"Affirmation of mental illness" - Jason Whitlock calls out Dwyane Wade over daughter Zaya Wade’s Seventeen magazine feature

In 2020, Dwyane Wade's child Zaya Wade came out as transgender. Since then, the Hall of Famer has continued to support his daughter in a number of ways, both as a father, and as a partner in the world of business, with the duo launching Translatable, an online community meant to support transgender kids and their families.

This week, Seventeen Magazine featured a piece by Zaya discussing a wide range of topics from growing up, to her supportive parents. However, former ESPN writer Jason Whitlock took the opposite stance.

On the latest episode of his "Fearless with Jason Whitlock" show released this week, Whitlock aimed at the NBA legend, saying that Wade's unwavering support for anything his kids do disappoints him.

Additionally, Whitlock completely ignored Zaya's preferred pronounces, and gender, repeatedly calling her a boy and describing transgenderism as a mental illness.

"I bite my tongue a lot when it comes to Dwyane Wade. But when I saw his son on Seventeen Magazine, I'm just 'Really?' You know, as a parent, you can. 'Hey, nah, we ain't doing that. You got some issues.' All of this affirmation of a mental illness.

"And just, as a man, he's been emasculated, and he doesn't want to put his foot down, but he needs to put his foot down for the sake of this boy and for the sake of his other kids. ... It really disappoints me."

Zaya Wade opens up on how Dwyane Wade has supported her despite his upbringing in Chicago

Although Dwyane Wade grew up in Chicago, and is in what Seventeen Magazine describes as a "hypermasculine industry," Zaya Wade had nothing but positive things to say about her dad.

At one point in the interview, Zaya mentioned enjoying binge-watching shows with her dad and stated that her parents support her dating, though the Hall of Famer tries to scare off whoever she brings around.

Despite that, Zaya highlighted how she hopes her dad's acceptance of who she is inspires others:

"Especially as an African American male, to be so openly and outwardly accepting. Because honestly, him being raised in a traditional Black household in Chicago…the culture there isn’t very queer-friendly. I hope that it will continue to inspire people to allow themselves to learn and understand queerness before bashing it."

Thanks to the father-daughter duo's Translatable platform, other parents like Dwyane Wade who grew up in a household that didn't understand the LGBT community, can learn and understand where their kids are coming from.