Dwyane Wade responds to ex-wife objecting to daughter’s petition to change her name

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Dwyane Wade is firing back after his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, accused him of trying to exploit their transgender daughter, Zaya, by applying for a legal name and gender change for the teen.

The sports star took to his verified Instagram account after Funches-Wade filed an objection in a Los Angeles court in an attempt to block his petition filed in August to have the 15-year-old’s birth name changed to Zaya and her gender to female.

“Since this must be the new way of parenting, I guess I have to address these allegations here, which is a damn shame,” he wrote in a lengthy note posted on his Instagram.

In her legal filing, Funches-Wade alleged that her former husband had “informed me 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.”

“[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,” she stated in her petition.

She is requesting that Zaya wait until “the age of majority” before being able to attain a gender and name change.

In his post, Wade wrote that “No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them.”

“This isn’t a game for my family and definitely not for Zaya,” he wrote. “This is her life!”

Wade and Funches-Wade, who are the parents of two children, married in 2002 and divorced in 2010. He married actress Gabrielle Union in 2014.

In his social media post, Wade alleges that Funches-Wade is an absentee parent to Zaya, who was 12 years old in 2020 when she went public with being transgender.

“Siohvaughn has decided to pretty much be an absent parent to Zaya ALL ON HER OWN,” he wrote. “I will not sit on my hands this time and allow her to make a mockery of my dedication to my family. The high road has run out of real estate.”

CNN has reached out to Funches-Wade’s attorney for comment.

A hearing regarding the case has been set in December.

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