Retired NBA star Dwayne Wade opened up about supporting his LGBTQ child Zion in a recent episode of sports podcast "
All The Smoke."
"I've watched my son, from day one, become into who she now eventually has come into," he said. "Nothing changes with my love, nothing changes with my responsibilities."
The former Miami Heat player has previously spoken out in support of his 12-year-old, but Thursday's interview was perhaps the first time he publicly referred to Zion using both male and female pronouns.
Wade did not specify his child's gender identity or sexual orientation, saying that would be his child's message to share with the world, though he did speak of Zion as being part of the LGBTQ community.
"I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'What if your son comes home and tells you he's gay? What are you going to do?'" he said. "We want them to be whoever they feel they can be in this world; that's our goal."
During the "All The Smoke" interview, Wade also talked about his experience facing cyberbullying over his embrace of his child.
"While you're trying to go down that process, this is what's going to come at you," he said. "It's going to be a lot of negativity, it's going to be a lot of hate. And it's not even for my son's sexuality, it's about being a young black man."
"One thing I gotta do now is get smarter and educate myself more," Wade said.
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