Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade had been going through some serious legal issues with his ex-wife for the past few months. The battle ensued when Wade filed a petition on his daughter Zaya’s behalf for legal name and gender change. However, the former NBA star’s ex-wife Siovaughn Funches opposed Wade’s petition by filing an appeal to dismiss it. The controversial matter was highly publicized when Funches hurled several accusations against Wade. In response, Wade too fired back at her with claims of his own. After months of anticipation, the court has finally released a verdict on the case seemingly putting an end to the harsh exchanges between the two parties.

Wade’s 15-year-old daughter was previously known as Zion Malachi Airamis Wade. However, that changed when she publicly came out as transgender in 2020. Since then, Wade and his wife, popular actress Gabrielle Union have been addressing her by her new name Zaya.

Dwyane Wade wins the legal scuffle for his daughter Zaya’s name and gender petition

On Friday, February 24, a judge from Los Angeles County finally signed Dwyane Wade’s petition to change his daughter’s name officially to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade. As per reports by TMZ, Zaya can now legally be identified as a female in all official documents irrespective of her previous gender.

Ever since the knowledge of Zaya’s gender identity was made public, she has received a significant amount of backlash and criticism from different circles. However, Wade and Union acted as two strong pillars for their teen kid, who has managed to successfully push through it all.

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Meanwhile, her proud father even mentioned his daughter in his acceptance speech on Saturday night. Both Wade and Union were felicitated with the President’s Award at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards. In his brief speech, Wade praised his daughter for being a strong individual while going through a rough phase.

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Wade and Union’s empowering treatment of their daughter Zaya’s life choices is an inspiration to many young Americans. On the other hand, the ex-Miami Heat star’s ex-wife Siovaughn Funches is of the opinion that Wade’s treatment of their child is dangerous and founded on motives related to financial expediency.

Wade’s befitting reply to his ex-wife

After the petition was filed, Siovaughn Funches had a lot of things to say against her ex-husband. Funches accused Wade of keeping things from her and moving forth with the petition without her consent. She claimed that she was not made aware of the matter beforehand which was a violation of their divorce agreement. Secondly, she stated that Wade was trying to ‘make money’ by publicizing Zaya’s case. In response, the former NBA superstar took to his social media to address Funches’ claims.

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The post read, “While none of us are surprised by Siovaughn’s attempt to fight Zaya’s identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I’m very disappointed that she continuously find ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children.“