Dwyane Wade Says Zaya Knew Her Gender Identity for 9 Years

Dwyane Wade is opening up further about his daughter Zaya coming out as transgender during his appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday (February 18) in New York City.

“She’s known it for nine years. She’s known since she was three years old,” the 38-year-old former NBA star said during his appearance. “Along this way we’ve asked questions and we’ve learned. But she’s known.”

“I knew early on that I had to check myself,” he added. “That’s what I knew. I knew early on that I had to ask myself questions.”

“I’ve been a person in a locker room that has been a part of the conversation that has said the wrong phrases and the wrong words myself,” Dwyane said. “As I got older and I watched my daughter grow, I had to go and look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Who are you? What are you going to do if your child comes home and says, “Dad, I’m not a boy … I’m a trans girl.” What are you going to do?’ That was my moment of real.”

“I think when the conversation we had — the one thing about it, for parents, is have conversations with your kids. Zaya, early on, knew two things. She knew straight and she knew gay. But Zaya started doing more research,” he continued.

“She is the one who sat down with us as a family and said, ‘Hey, I don’t think I’m gay.’ And she went down the list. ‘This is how I identify myself, this is my gender identity, I identify myself as a young lady. I think I’m a straight trans because I like boys.’ So it was a process for us to sit down with our daughter and find out who she is and what she likes, and not put something on her,” he added.

Watch the entire interview…

Pictured: Dwyane Wade arriving for his Good Morning America interview.