Thanks for being here.
Thank you.
That was a clip from
the ESPN documentary.
And first of all, I just--
I think it's what every--
you know, every parent should be
is what you're being right now,
which is unconditionally
loving your child
and supporting your child--
Thank you.
--in whoever they are.
I mean--
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
That's-- there are so many
parents that are just, oh,
you're not going the way I
imagined or wanted you to be
and freak out.
And you're so loving
and supportive of Zaya.
And what a special child she is.
Yeah, she is, she is.
Thank you so much for that.
First of all, me and my wife,
my wife Gabrielle Union,
we are proud, when I say proud,
we are proud parents of a child
in the LGBTQ+ community.
And we're proud allies as well.
And we take our roles
and our responsibility
as parents very seriously.
So when our child comes
home with a question,
when our child comes home with
a issue, when our child comes
home with anything,
it's our job as parents
to listen to that, to give them
the best information that we
can, the best
feedback that we can,
and that doesn't change
because sexuality is now
involved in it.
So once Zaya, our
12-year-old came home--
and first Zion-- everybody--
I don't know if everyone knows--
originally named Zion, Zion
born as a boy, came
home and said, hey,
so I want to talk to you guys.
I think going forward, I'm
ready to live my truth.
And I want to be
referenced as she and her.
I would love for you
guys to call me Zaya.
And so internally,
now it's our job to,
one, go out and get
information, to reach out
to every relationship
that we have.
My wife reached out to
everybody on the cast of "Pose."
And we're just
trying to figure out
as much information
we can to make sure
that we give our child the best
opportunity to be, you know,
her best self.
Yeah.
I mean, I would think
that it's one thing--
[APPLAUSE]
It's one thing to have this at
home, but knowing that she's
going to be out in the world--
Yeah.
--because you're
a public figure,
and even if you weren't,
she's going to school,
and to want to be protective
and to make sure she's safe--
Yes.
--that must be a scary thing,
because it's one thing for you
to love her and your wife
to love her, but that must--
you just want everyone
to love her the same way.
Exactly.
And once Zaya came home and
said, hey, you call me Zion,
I'm ready to take on this,
I looked at her and said,
you are a leader.
You are a leader.
And this is our opportunity
to allow you to be a voice.
Right now it's through us,
because she's 12 years old.
But eventually, it
will be through her.
Right.
Well, and GLSEN
is an organization
you're working with.
And there's a lot of-- if
anybody else there-- out
there can relate to
this and needs help,
you can go to our website
and we can direct you,
because I'm sure there
are a lot of people that
just don't know what to do.
Yeah.
So you're a great example.
Thank you.
The-- I know that everybody is
still grieving over the loss
of Kobe--
Yeah.
--and all the people
that we lost on--
you must have a lot
of memories of Kobe.
And he was-- he was just
such a light, wasn't he?
He was just such a
bright, bright light.
He was special.
I mean, I think my
favorite-- you know,
we all have stories and moments
of our interactions with Kobe.
But I think what was
special about him
and why you see so many guys in
the NBA or so many younger guys
really tore up about
this is because he was
the first superstar that really
embraced different generations,
really embraced us.
And I think from, like, 2008
on, from the Olympics on,
he really put his
arms around us,
as competitors, and
the rest of the world.
You saw him being more involved
in so many different sports,
not just basketball
and soccer, obviously,
with his daughter
and women basketball.
But he just started
being a person
that everybody can call and
reach out to and say, hey,
Kobe, I have a question.
So I'm going to
miss that example--
Yeah.
--not only just my
friend, but that example
that he was setting not only
for me, but with so many others.
Yep.
Yep.
Well said.
[APPLAUSE]
He was a good guy.
Yeah.
You're a good guy.
You've got to see
the documentary.
It's called D. Wade,
Life Unexpected.
It airs Sunday, February
23, at 9:00 on ESPN.
We'll be right back.
