Dwayne Wade says he started noticing his 12-year old son Zion was different when he was about three years old.

“I had to look myself in the mirror when my son at the time was 3 years old and my wife started having conversations about us noticing that he wasn’t on the boy vibe that [his now 17 year old son] Zaire is on. And, I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'What if your son comes home and tells you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How you going to act. It ain't about him, he knows who he is. It's about you.”

He talked about Zion during an appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's Up In Smoke podcast. When he did, he used mostly feminine pronouns. [Jump to 30 minutes.]

“I’ve watched my son from Day 1 become into who she now eventually has come into. Nothing changes (with) my love; nothing changes (with) my responsibilities. Only thing I got to do now is get smarter and educate myself more. And that’s my job," he told Jackson and Barnes. 

Wade has got a bunch of online hate for his support of his son. He responded to that last month:

I’ve seen some post-thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo. Stupidity is apart of this world we live in—so i get it. But here’s the thing—I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile! ✌🏾

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 30, 2019