Dwyane Wade opens up about his transgender child Zaya

FILE — Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat poses for a photo with his wife, Gabrielle Union, nephew, Dahveon Morris, and children, Kaavia James Union Wade, Zaire Wade, Xavier Wade and Zion Wade after his final career home game at American Airlines Arena on April 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP

MANILA, Philippines—Retired NBA superstar Dwyane Wade and wife Gabrielle Union showed their support for their daughter Zaya who identifies as a transgender girl.

During an interview with Ellen Degeneres on The Ellen Show, Wade said that they are “proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud allies as well.”

“We take our roles and responsibilities as parents seriously.”

“When our child comes home with question, when our child comes home with an issue, when our child comes home with anything it’s our job as parents to listen to them and give them the best information that we can, the best feedback that we can.”

Wade added that he and Union had to reach out to “every relationship that we have” to figure out as much as possible about becoming better parents and allow Zaya, 12, to be the best that she can be.

The three-time NBA champion added that he and his wife also talked to the cast of TV series Pose to learn more about the life of the members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Pose, which is shown in FX, is a show about African-American and Latino dancers in New York City.

In June 2019, Union accompanied Zaya, originally named Zion, to the Miami Beach Gay Parade while Wade proudly showed his support on social media.