NBA star Dwyane Wade gave a powerful speech about accepting his queer 12-year-old child Zion on Stephen Jackson and Barnes’ “All The Smoke” podcast this week.
“You want to talk about strength and courage?” said Wade. “My 12-year-old has way more than I have. You can learn something from your kids.”
Said Wade: “I had to look myself in the mirror when my son at the time was 3 years old and me and my wife started having conversations about us noticing that he wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire (Wade’s other son) was on. And, I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son come home and tell you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act?’ It ain’t about him. He knows who he is. It’s about you. Who are you? All these people that’s out there saying those things, look at yourself. Understand that you’re the one who got the issues. It’s not the kids. I watched my son from day one become into who – she – now eventually has come into. And for me it’s all about, nothing changes with my love. Nothing changes with my responsibilities.”
The Wade family has gotten grief from haters on social media over Zion’s appearance but have fought back powerfully, with pride and love.
Earlier last year, they took Zion to Pride.
“I grew up with the same perspective as a lot of these people out here that’s a little ignorant,” Wade said of the negativity and hate on social media. “I grew up with a similar perspective. And, you meet people along the way that help you take those glasses off and put on some different ones. Look through life through a different lens. That’s what my wife has been able to do. So, it’s been cool.”
Added Wade: “Everybody get used to it, man. This is the new normal. So if anybody different, we looked at as different. You know what I’m saying? The ones that don’t understand it. The ones that don’t get it. The ones that are stuck in a box. You’re different. Not the people that are out here living their lives, man.”
