It’s clear that Dwyane Wade has his son’s back. The three-time NBA champion was recently on the podcast, All the Smoke, talking about his 12-year old son, who has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Wade’s son, Zion is part of the LGBTQ+ community and there were trolls on social media who were shamming him.
“If you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have. You can learn something from your kids,” Wade said via Entertainment Tonight.
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“I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son comes home and tell you he’s gay?What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act? It ain’t about him. He knows who he is. It’s about you. Who are you? … I watched my son, from day one, become into who she now eventually come into. And for me it’s all about nothing changes with my love. Nothing changes in my responsibilities. So, the only thing I had to do now is get smarter educate myself more. And that’s my job.”
The recent attention stems from Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union posting a photo of the family on Instagram with Zion’s nails painted white, which led to Instagram users speculating about his sexuality. Wade immediately defended his family on Twitter.
“I’ve seen some post-thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo,” Wade wrote. “Stupidity is apart of this world we live in — so i get it. But here’s the thing — I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!”
On the podcast, Wade explained he claps back at trolls because he knows everyone will listen due to his status.
“When I respond to things socially, I’m not responding to it because you hurt my feelings,” he said. “I’m not responding because I even care enough of what you’re saying… I’m responding because I understand my platform. “I’m responding because I’m speaking for a lot of people who don’t have the same voice that I have as a father. I’m even speaking for my 12-year-old right now because I haven’t allowed him to sit in-front of a microphone yet. But I’m speaking for so many others in the LGBTQ+ community. For me, man, like I said, it’s just my version of support.”
Wade retired from the NBA this year, which gives him more time to spend with Zion and the rest of the family. He also has more time to fire back at people who take shots at his loved ones.
