*Dwyane Wade says a big reason why he and his family fled Florida is because the state is not LGBTQ-friendly.
The Retired Miami Heat icon appears on Thursday’s episode of Showtime’s “Headliners” where he touches on Florida’s conservative politicians and the anti-gay legislation. Wade’s 15-year-old son Zion was 12 years old when he came out as a transgender girl named Zaya.
“That’s another reason why I don’t live in that state,” Wade said in the “Headliners” interview, PEOPLE reports. “A lot of people don’t know that. I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
The former NBA star continued, “I mean, obviously, the tax [situation] is 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.”
READ MORE: Dwyane Wade’s Transgender Daughter Makes Runway Debut in Paris
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Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union share a daughter, Kaavia James, 4, and he is also dad to an 8½-year-old son with Aja Metoyer and a 20-year-old son, Zaire, with ex-wife Siovaughn Funches (the mother of Zaya).
Elsewhere in his “Headliners” appearance, Wade opened up about his parenting style.
“I tell my dad all the time, I’m just a mirror image of the way he loved us and the way that he accepted not only myself and my brothers but other kids in the community that didn’t have father figures,” Wade said.
“And so I don’t know any difference. And so yes, I had to educate myself and yes, I had to get a better understanding. And yes, I had to lose some friends along the process, but I never wavered on loving my kids and trying to find space to get the chance to understand them,” he explained.
“Headliners with Rachel Nichols” streams Thursdays on Showtime.
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