Dwyane Wade says family left Florida due to anti-LGBTQ+ policies

Listen to this article here

Sign-Up for a free subscription to The Black Wall Street Times‘ daily newsletter, Black Editors’ Edition (BEE) – our curated news selections & opinions by us for you.

Former Miami Heat champion Dwyane Wade said he moved his family out of Florida because he felt they “would not be accepted or feel comfortable there” because of anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the state.

CBS News reports Wade explained his relationship with the state in an interview for “Headliners with Rachel Nichols”; the clip was exclusively shared with People.

“That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state,” Wade said in response to a question about Florida’s politicians who advocate for legislation that negatively impacts the LGBTQ+ community. “A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”

The 41-year-old former shooting guard has a 15-year-old daughter, Zaya, who came out as transgender in 2020. 

Wade and his wife, actor Gabrielle Union, have been publicly supportive of Zaya and the transgender community

CBS News reports Wade said that while Florida’s tax benefits are desirable and he loves Miami, the environment is just not right for his family at this time. “My family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there,” he told Nichols.

In recent months, Florida has passed legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community in various ways, including a law banning people from using a bathroom other than their sex assigned at birth, a law preventing children from watching drag shows, and a law banning classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades.

Wade, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this month, sold his Miami beachside residence in 2021 and now lives in Los Angeles County with his family. He is currently a minority owner of the Utah Jazz.