Carolina Reaper

NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade says he began distancing himself from certain jokes and language in the Miami Heat locker room long before his daughter Zaya publicly came out as transgender. Speaking on the 'Conversations With Cam' podcast, Wade explained that as his family privately navigated Zaya’s identity, he started listening differently and no longer participated in what he called a “masculine, toxic environment.” “I wasn’t in on the jokes no more. I wasn’t laughing. I was leaving out of the locker room when I would hear certain things,” Wade said. The shift led him to have a direct conversation with longtime teammate and close friend Udonis Haslem, who was unaware of the family’s situation at the time. Wade said Haslem later changed his thinking, language, and actions after that “safe conversation.” Zaya came out publicly in 2020. Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union have since become prominent advocates for LGBTQ+ youth. Together with Zaya, Wade co-founded Translatable, an organization focused on creating supportive spaces for LGBTQIA+ young people. Wade emphasized the need for more environments where people can listen and learn rather than immediately reject unfamiliar topics.