Dwyane Wade praises "flourishing" daughter Zaya as he celebrates Pride month
Wade vows to protect Zaya as "they're trying to erase this community"
LOS ANGELES -- "It's the love of a father."
For NBA legend Dwyane Wade, showing the world his love and support for daughter Zaya is key, especially as we celebrate Pride month.
"All we try to focus on is listening, learning, accepting and understanding, you know, our kids as we go down this journey in life as parents," Wade told On The Red Carpet.
"To be able to love her out loud is something that...you know, I see her flourishing in life."
Zaya came out publicly as trans in 2020 when she was 12 years old and her family has stood by her side every step of the way. At the time, Wade told Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, "For us, it was important that Zaya understood her family has her back."
On The Red Carpet caught up with Wade at the Daytime Emmys. He was an executive producer on "The Dads," a short documentary about five fathers with trans kids who take a weekend fishing trip with Dennis Shepard, whose son Matthew was beaten to death 25 years ago for being gay. Wade worked alongside writer/director Luchina Fisher on the project.
"The message, it's just bigger. You know, it's bigger. So we're thankful to have these platforms, these red carpets, these moments to be able to talk about something that's important to us and that's our kids and that's what they're dealing with and what they're going through," Wade said.
And Wade's work continues. His production company, 59th And Prairie Entertainment, Wade said they're open to doing more work with Fisher on projects similar to "The Dads." And he recently launched Translatable, a new online community designed to support transgender children and their families.
"We're in a space where this community is trying to be, they're trying to erase this community. My daughter is fully in this community. And so we're not allowing them to erase anything."
