Dwyane Wade Explains Why He Moved Out of Florida: “My Family …
Dwyane Wade recently opened up about why he decided to move his family out of Florida to California. The three-time NBA champion stopped by Showtime's new series, Headliners with Rachel Nichols, where he was asked about Florida politicians who are fans of his while also supporting LGBTQ policies that negatively affect his family. More from The Hollywood Reporter
"That's another reason why I don't live in that state," he said in Thursday's episode. "A lot of people don't know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions. Obviously, the taxes is great.
Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And so that's one of the reasons why I don't live there."
Wade has been a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights following his daughter Zaya coming out as transgender in 2020. While accepting the President's Award at the 2023 NAACP Awards, the former NBA star and his wife Gabrielle Union-Wade praised Zaya for her strength and determination to be wholeheartedly herself. "I've sat back and watched how gracefully you have taken on the public scrutiny," Wade said to his daughter. "And even though it's not easy, I watched you walk out of the house every morning as yourself.
I admire how you handle the ignorance in our world ... that you face every day." The married couple also shared the importance of using their platforms to amplify the voices of all and share the resources and access they've been given. "Even as we demand equality at the top of our lungs, we consistently fail to extend our advocacy to protect some of our most vulnerable among us," Union-Wade said in their acceptance speech. "Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized and hunted in this country, every day, everywhere.
And there's rarely a whisper about it." Last year, at the 2022 Time 100 Gala, Wade discussed the importance of families evolving with their LGBTQ loved ones. "As the world grows, more information is out there, more exposure and experience is out there.
We shouldn't stay where we are," he said on the red carpet. "We should always want to move forward. I don't like the conversation of closing a book on a community. I don't understand how that is reasonable as a human being."
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