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Dwyane Wade is trying to legally change his daughter’s name and gender. But his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, is asking the court to stop him.
The former pro basketball player filed a petition in Los Angeles court for sole custody of 15-year-old Zaya Wade on August 22. But on Tuesday, Funches issued a protest, saying that the custody agreement was between him. It gives Wade and her the ability to continue participating in such decisions, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.
No decision on the matter will be made until the hearing, which is reportedly scheduled for Dec. 12.
In rebuttal, Funches says he met with Wade in April, when “[He] He told me that he wanted our child to be famous because of the name and gender and also told me that there would be an endorsement/contract attached.”
Wade responded to reports of his ex-wife’s petition on Thursday. He called Funches an “absent father” who was not involved in Zaya’s life, and denied allegations that he legally changed his daughter’s gender and name for financial gain.
“Nobody in our house is going to force Zaya or any of our kids to do anything they don’t want to do, much less have a strong identity with,” Wayne said. wrote in a statement posted on his Instagram. “This is not a game for my family and not for Zaya.”
Check out this post on Instagram A post shared by dwyanewade (@dwyanewade)
Wade spoke publicly about his support for his daughter’s identity on the Ellen show in February 2020. He said that he and his wife, Gabrielle Union, are “proud parents of a child in LGBTQ+ community.”
“We take our roles, and our responsibilities, as parents very seriously,” he said. “When our child comes home with a question, when the child comes home with an issue, when the child comes home with everything, our job is for the parents to give tell us the best, the best feedback we can get.”
Disputes between parents over adoption of transgender child ‘just plain bad’
“It’s just horrible” to see parents disagreeing about how to raise a transgender child, said Asaf Orr, senior staff attorney and director of the Transgender Youth Program at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. , in San Francisco.
And while these disputes rarely end up in court, they do happen. In 2019, a Dallas judge awarded joint custody to two parents of a 7-year-old who wanted to transition. The mother filed a pre-trial motion asking the father to confirm the child’s gender identity and naming rights.
“Of course, even if a parent has sole custody, it’s normal for that parent to consult with the other parent when making important decisions,” Orr said. “It really comes down to the terms of the retention agreement.”
Orr added that Wade’s decision to request a legal change to his daughter’s name and gender “is a very important step in human transition.”
“Given the age of the child in this case, and the fact that Wade has been in custody for a long time, that is also a factor that the court will consider in assessing what is in the child’s best interest.” ,” Orr said. .
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