Getty/Michael Reaves
Dwayne Wade embraces his son, Zion.
Dwayne Wade admits that he was once "a little ignant" to the LGBTQ community, but that having a son who uses the pronoun "she" made him "look in the mirror" and change.
Wade and his son came under attack online earlier in the month after his wife, Gabrielle Union, shared a picture on Instagram of the family, in which Zion, 12, was wearing a gray crop top and fake acrylic nails.
The former NBA star defended his son and took aim at the abusers at the time, describing the criticism on Twitter as "stupidity."
However, Wade now admits that even he had to change his mindset after realising Zion "wasn't on the boy vibe" like his eldest son Zaire.
"I grew up with the same perspective as a lot of these people out here that's a little ignant," Wade said in an interview on podcast "All the Smoke." I grew up with a similar perspective.
"I had to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'What if your son comes home and tells you he's gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act?'
"I've watched my son, from day one, become into who she now eventually has come into."
The 37-year-old also encouraged his son's abusers to change, just as he did.
"It ain't about him. He knows who he is. It's about you. Who are you?" he said, adding: "Understand that you're the one that's got the issues. You're the one that's got the problems. It's not the kids."
Ex-NBA duo Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, who were hosting the podcast with Wade, commended him on his "tremendous" support, and for using his platform to spread positivity.
"The love and support you show is tremendous, first of all," said Barnes, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.
"Being a black child, being a woman in this country is hard enough, you know what I mean, and then adding that component to it. But I think the effort you guys showed as a family, and the unity and the love was huge man, and needed.
"There are plenty of other people going through it, having to pretend to be someone there not, or they're scared to speak out, or can't speak out, and when people like you with your platform and your wife's platform are able to show unity, I think that goes a long way man."
Wade retired from the NBA in April 2019, ending his career as a 13-time NBA All Star and the league's 29th highest ever scorer, having hit 23,165 points in spells with the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Read more:
Gabrielle Union defended her family after someone questioned Dwyane Wade's choice to call her and his children 'my girls'
Mattel just released its first line of 'gender-inclusive' dolls to allow kids 'to express themselves freely'
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade attacked online for letting their son wear fake nails and a crop top
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