The ex-wife of former NBA star Dwyane Wade alleged in a court filing Tuesday that he is trying to make money off their transgender daughter Zaya’s “name and gender change.”
Wade filed a petition with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in August to legally change 15-year-old Zaya’s name. At the time, he stated that he notified his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, “as a courtesy.”
But in court documents filed Tuesday, Funches-Wade said her ex-husband did not try to contact or confer with her regarding Zaya’s name change or transition. As a result, Funches-Wade argued Wade violated their custody agreement and asked the Los Angeles court to reject the name-change petition.
She also argued that Wade, who reportedly made an estimated $200 million during his 16-year NBA career, “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” as a result of Zaya coming out, according to court documents filed by her attorneys.
Zaya came out as trans in 2020, and Wade has been publicly supportive of her in multiple interviews since then. He first discussed Zaya’s gender identity publicly on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February 2020, saying at the time that he and his wife, actor Gabrielle Union, are “proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Funches-Wade said in her filing that Wade invited her to one of his Atlanta homes in April, and that during that visit he told her that “a lot of money had been already made and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue.”
In her objection to Zaya’s name change, Funches-Wade said Wade told her he intended to make their child “very famous due to the name and gender issue” and also informed her that “there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith.”
“Given Petitioner’s high-profile status as a professional athlete, our children’s lives have been highly publicized,” Funches-Wade said of her ex-husband in the filing. “Petitioner has appeared on national television shows and in media reports regarding our child’s name and gender change. I am concerned that our child is being commercialized at a young age and also of the uncontrollable consequences of media exposure i.e. cyber bullying, statements and/or pictures taken out of context of our child, and unwanted spotlight focused on our child.”
Funches-Wade asked the court to deny Wade’s request until Zaya turns 18, when she can decide whether she wants to move forward with changing her “name and/or gender.”
Zaya has spoken publicly about coming out as trans and the impact it has had on her life. During Pride Month, in June, she was honored as part of LGBTQ entertainment brand Logo’s annual Logo30 series, which profiled entertainers, activists and other LGBTQ leaders.
“Being my full authentic self feels like freedom,” she said in a clip from the Logo30 series. “Being out and open and truthful about who I am to myself and others is just freeing. It’s a beautiful feeling to have and hold and to be able to share with the rest of the world.”
Zaya, a professional model who recently landed a campaign with Tiffany & Co., said being her true self feels “euphoric” but added that she still deals with transphobia from others.
“There are genuinely people out there who think that you’re a kid, this is a phase, or you don’t actually know what you’re talking about,” Zaya told Logo. “I know that I’m trans and it’s not like one day I just went, ‘I want to try out being trans.’ No. So just suck it up. We are who we are.”
Neither Wade’s representative nor Funches-Wade’s attorney immediately responded to NBC News request for comment.
