Dwayne Wade has opened up about his relationship with his son Zion, 12, and the backlash he received for wearing false nails and crop tops.
Trolls targeted Zion for the (super cute) outfit he was wearing in his family’s Thanksgiving photo last month.
However, basketball icon Dwayne and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, were quick to defend him.
In fact, they are known to support Zion no matter what – with Gabrielle even taking him to April’s Miami Beach Gay Pride.
Speaking on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast this week, the retired NBA player said: ‘I had to look myself in the mirror when my son at the time was three years old and me and my wife started to have conversations about us noticing that he wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire [another of Wade’s sons] was on.
‘And I had to look myself in the mirror and say “What if your son come 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?”’
Wise words!
The star added that he grew up ‘ignorant’ and had to turn to Gabrielle – star of Bring It On and a former judge on America’s Got Talent – for guidance.
‘You meet people along the way that help you take those glasses off and put on some different ones,’ he explained. ‘Look through life through a different lens. That’s what my wife has been able to do. So, it’s been cool.’
On how Zion is doing, Dwayne said: ‘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.’
Dwayne and Gabrielle are also parents to one-year-old Kaavia. Zion, along with six-year-old Xavier and 17-year-old Zaire , are from Dwayne’s previous relationships. Dwayne also adopted his nephew in 2011.
Contender for father of the year, here!
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