Dwyane Wade’s No. 3 Miami Heat jersey hangs in the rafters at Kaseya Center, where he spent the majority of his 16-year NBA career. But the 2023 Hall of Fame inductee said he no longer lives in Florida because his family “would not be accepted” there.
During Thursday’s episode of “Headliners” with Rachel Nichols, Wade revealed that his decision to leave Florida stemmed from state legislators proposing anti-LGBTQ policies.
“That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state,” Wade, 41, said in an exclusive preview shared by People.
Wade, the father of 15-year-old Zaya, who came out as transgender in 2020, said “my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there.” Wade is also father to Zaire, 21, Xavier, 9, and Kaavia, his four-year-old daughter with wife Gabrielle Union.
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The three-time NBA champion has championed the LGBTQ+ community since revealing his daughter’s announcement on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February 2020.
“This is her life every day. This is no game to us,” Wade said on “Good Morning America” at the time. “We’re all about protecting her heart, we’re about protecting her joy and to do that, we have to support her.”
That same sentiment led to their departure from the Sunshine State, despite no state income taxes in Florida: “I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
