BY SARAH WEAVER
Former NBA star Dwyane Wade filed a petition with the Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday to change his 15-year-old son’s name and gender.
The petition, if successful, would change the superstar son’s name, Zion Malachi Airamis Wade, to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, according to Spectrum News. The petition says he notified his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, of his decision to file with the court as courtesy, the outlet reports.
Wade told Ellen DeGeneres on her show in February 2020 that his son had come out privately as transgender.
“So once Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home—first Zion, I don’t know if everyone knows, originally named Zion, born as a boy—came home and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I’m ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as ‘she’ and ‘her,’ I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,” Wade said.
