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Former NBA star Dwyane Wade was booed and had transphobic comments hurled at him as he left the Knicks game against the Miami Heat with wife Gabrielle Union.
The 41-year-old, who played for the Heat for 16 years, was at Madison Square Garden Sunday to watch his former team rout the hosts.
However, the retired, three-time NBA championship winner, who is the father of 15-year-old transgender model Zaya, faced homophobic jeers as he left the game.
In a clip provided to DailyMail.com by Adam Glyn, who filmed the incident, Wade can be seen following his wife Gabrielle towards a car.
Some of the sports fans gathered outside the arena began to boo the former shooting guard, with one shouting, ‘You mutilated your son,’ at Wade in reference to Zaya.
Dwyane Wade was booed and had transphobic comments hurled at him, leaving an NBA game
The three-time NBA championship winner is the father of 15-year-old transgender model Zaya
Zaya legally changed her name and gender in February after coming out as trans aged 12, following a court battle between Wade and his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade.
A Los Angeles County judge signed off on the new identity for Dwyane’s 15-year-old child in documents obtained by TMZ.
The judge also granted her official gender change from male to female. The petition for the name and gender was filed last August. Last November, Zaya’s mother contested the petition made by Wade, claiming that their child was being pressured financially to make the decision.
Recently, the NBA legend revealed that he and his family left Florida due to what he claims are restrictive policies that infringe on the rights of LGBTQ people.
He has spoken about the need to accept and embrace people for who they are, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation and his advocacy for the LGBTQ community has earned him widespread praise and admiration.
During an interview with journalist, host and NBA reporter Rachel Nichols on her show Headliners, Wade explained why he decided to leave the state he called home, despite being a celebrated figure.
You know, obviously, the taxes are great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And, so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t live there,’ he stated.
‘A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.’
The former shooting guard attended the Heat’s win Sunday with wife Gabrielle Union (left)
Zaya (seen far right with her brother and mom Siohvaughn Funches-Wade) came out as transgender to her family in 2019, when she was 12 years old
Wade (left) previously asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to throw out his ex-wife’s petition against their daughter’s name change request
Zaya was granted a legal name and gender change, following a legal battle with Funches-Wade; Dwyane and Zaya pictured 2022
Wade explained how specific policies and laws passed by the state of Florida now make it hard for Wade and his family to feel accepted and comfortable in the state.
Only last month educators in all Florida public schools for all grade levels are now banned from teaching students about gender identity and sexual orientation in a sweeping move announced by Ron DeSantis’s board of education.
The move marks a huge expansion of the The Parental Rights in Education law – also dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by critics – which was signed last year by the governor and sparked a firestorm across the country.
Critics of the policy claim it could harm children who identify as gay and transgender.
While the previous version of the law prohibited instruction of these topics to children ages 5 through 8, and the expansion would now apply to students up to the age of 18.
The new rule – which will now apply to grades four to 12 in the state after previously capping at 3rd grade – comes as DeSantis is touring the early primary contest state of South Carolina, where he railed against ‘ woke ‘ issues like transgenderism.
Since coming out Zaya has won modelling contracts with brands like Tiffany, Dove and amassed hundreds of thousands of social media followers. According to her mother, she is also in talks for deals with Disney.
The former NBA’s star’s child is now legally named Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade; Pictured 2022
Zaya made her runway debut in March when she rocked the catwalk for Miu Miu
Upon tying the knot with the sports star in 2014, Gabrielle became stepmother to Zaya and Wade’s other two children, Zaire, 21, and Xavier,
In March, Wade and Union beamed with pride as they watched Zaya make her catwalk debut.
Both Wade and Union posted footage of Zaya’s big day to their respective Instagram accounts, captioning their posts with two simple words: ‘She’s arrived.’
The former Heat star has four children, including Zaya who he had with his high school sweetheart and first wife Siohvaughn in 2007 before his marriage to Gabrielle Union.
Upon tying the knot with the sports star in 2014, Gabrielle became stepmother to Zaya and his other two children, Zaire, 21, and Xavier, as well as welcoming Kaavia, 4, via surrogate in 2018.
