Just a reminder, retired basketball star Dwyane Wade is parenting goals!
The former Miami Heat player and three-time NBA champion took to Instagram this week to give a shout-out to his 13-year-old trans daughter, Zaya Wade, and give everyone a lesson on the true meaning of unconditional love. Seeing this kind of wholesome, pure, loving content on our feeds, especially after what seems like months and months of doom-scrolling, is exactly what we needed to remind us that there are some awesome people out there in the world who don't let outdated, toxic notions of masculinity and fatherhood stop them from being an amazing parent to their LGBTQ+ kids!
"Unconditional love, simply put, is love without strings attached," Dwyane wrote in the caption of his post dedicated to Zaya. "It's love you offer freely. You don't base it on what someone does for you in return. You simply love them and want nothing more than their happiness."
Is someone cutting onions in here!??!
But this isn't the first time Dwyane has proudly and publicly declared his love for his daughter!
During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show earlier this year, he opened up about what it's like raising a trans kid, and how he and wife Gabrielle Union (Zaya's stepmother), want to create the most open, loving, and nurturing home for their kids as possible.
"We just trying to figure out as much information as we can to make sure that we give our child the best opportunity to be her best self," Dwyane told Ellen.
He continued:
"We want [our kids] to be whoever they feel that they can be in this world."
And in case you needed more proof that Dwyane and Gabrielle are some of the most supportive celeb parents out there, the two took Zaya to this year's Truth Awards back in February to make her red carpet debut, and it was yet another stunning moment that proved just how impactful being a supportive and accepting parent of an LGBTQ+ child can be.
A word of advice for all the parents out there who still struggle to fully accept and embrace their LGBTQ+ children: take a note out of Dwyane and Gabrielle's playbook! They're doing it right!!
