Via Getty Images
Dwyane Wade‘s ex-wife is claiming the former NBA star of exploiting and “pressuring” their trans daughter Zaya’s gender identity for his financial gain, according to court documents obtained by the Blast.
Siohvaughn Funches-Wade objected to “multiple factors” outlined in her ex-husband’s petition to legally change the 15-year-old’s name.
She alleges Wade, 40, “is positioned to profit from the minor child’s name and gender change with various companies through contacts and marketing opportunities including but not limited to deals with Disney.”
“I have concerns that [Wade] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies,” his ex-wife added.
In an April 2022 meeting with Wade in Atlanta, Funches-Wade claims Wade told her that “a lot of money had already been made” in relation to Zaya’s “name and gender issue.”
“[Wade] told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith,” the public speaker further alleges, according to the report.
Wade’s ex-wife went on to say that the former pro baller even used their trans daughter’s deadname in the court filings, with “Zion, who was present at the time, answering that various companies were interested and that Disney was a prospective company.”
In her objection, Funches-Wade also alleges that because Zaya’s transition was so highly publicized, “there will likely be media pressure on the minor child.”
She’s acting that Zaya make this decision for herself, but only in two and a half years “at the age of majority.”
Her filing has yet to be listed on the docket, and Wade has similarly not filed a response.
Page Six contacted the former couple’s representatives and attorneys for comment.
In Wade’s original petition filed in August, he argued that he had “full authority” to ask for her legal name change without her mother’s consent.
Regardless, Wade insisted in the court filing that his ex-wife had “received notice” of his petition “as a courtesy.”
Back in February 2020, Wade first shared Zaya’s coming out story on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, telling the host that the then-12-year-old told him and his wife, Gabrielle Union, that she was “ready to live (her) truth” while asking them to refer to her using female pronouns.
Meanwhile, on social media, the teen has blossomed into a beautiful young lady and includes “she/her” pronouns in her bio.
That same year, Wade told ‘Good Morning America’ host Robin Roberts that Zaya had known her true gender identity “since she was three years old.”
Wade and the ex-wife in question also share a 20-year-old son Zaire. He also has two younger children, son Xavier, 8, with Aja Meter, and daughter Kaavia, 3, with Gabrielle Union.
