Dwayne Wade is exploiting transgender daughter, 15, for money, ex-wife alleges

The ex-wife of Dwyane Wade doesn’t like the way the former NBA has been publicizing his support for their transgender teen daughter, alleging that he’s exploiting Zaya’s identity for his own financial gain.

Siohvaughn Funches-Wade has filed documents in court, ostensibly to object to Wade’s petition to legally change the 15-year-old’s name, Page Six reported. But she also alleges that the retired Miami Heat player has a financial incentive to push for the name change to be recognized in court.

“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,” Funches-Wade wrote in the documents, Page Six reported.

Funches-Wade also said that the retired Miami Heat star “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.”

Funches-Wade’s filing comes nearly three months after Wade filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court, asking that his 15-year-old’s name be changed from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, Page Six reported in August.The teenager would be female in all legal documents moving forward, per the request.

Wade also told the court that he has “full authority” to file the petition without the consent of Zaya’s mother, Siohvaughn Funches. Wade insisted that, “as a courtesy,” the teen’s mother would “received notice,” The Blast reported.

Wade first opened up about his daughter’s gender identity, and his support for her coming out, during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in February 2020, Page Six reported at the time. 

In discussing Zaya’s coming-out story, he said she was “ready to live (her) truth” and wanted her parents to use female pronouns when they referred to her.

“We take our roles and our responsibilities as parents very seriously,” Wade said of him and Zaya’s stepmother, actor Gabrielle Union.

Wade and Union married in 2014 and share a daughter, Kaavia, 3. He also has a son, Xavier, 8, with Aja Metoyer. Wade said he’s always wanted to provide his children with the “best information that [(they) can, the best feedback that (they) can, and that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved in it.”

A few days later, Wade appeared on “Good Morning America,” where he said that Zaya had known since she was 3 years old that she was female. “We love the fact that she doesn’t have to hide,” he told Robin Roberts. “Along this way, we’ve asked questions and we’ve learned. But she’s known.”

FULL INTERVIEW: NBA superstar @DwyaneWade opens up to @robinroberts about daughter Zaya’s gender identity and why it was important to feature this journey his new @ESPN documentary. https://t.co/ZdCAUU3gAQ pic.twitter.com/Bf6xUJQvcx

— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 18, 2020

Funches-Wade apparently wants the family to take a different approach — at least, to slow things down. She and Wade also are parents of a 20-year-old son, Zaire.

Notably, in her filing, Funches-Wade refers to Zaya by her birthname, Zion, in explaining her objections to the name change being made legal while her child is still a minor, Page Six reported. She asked that Zaya make this decision for herself when she is “at the age of majority” in two and a half years, saying that the media attention is likely to put “pressure” on a minor child.

Funches-Wade also claimed that her ex-husband made his financial motivations pretty clear when they met in April, according to Page Six. The retired athlete told her that “a lot of money had been already 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,” Funches-Wade alleged, according to Page Six.

Funches-Wade also used the teen’s birth name — or dead name — in saying that “Zion was present at the time, answered that various companies were interested and that Disney was a prospective company.”

Page Six said Wade has not yet filed a response to Funches-Wade’s legal documents and has not responded to requests for comment.