Dwyane Wade, former shooting guard for the Miami Heat and NBA Hall of Famer, announced this week that he will launch Translatable, a new online community that supports transgender children.
Wade announced Translatable when receiving the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award from the Elevate Prize Foundation’s Make Good Famous Summit. Wade credited his son Zaya – a biological boy who came out as transgender and began living as a girl at age 12 – for the creation of Translatable when accepting his award.
“The question was presented to her as, ‘If you have one thing that you want to see change in this community, what would it be?'” Wade recalled. “And, for her, it goes right to parents. It goes right to the adults. It goes right to us. It’s not the kids. It’s us. And so she wanted to create a space that felt safe for parents and their kids. That’s what Translatable is, and it’s her baby.”
US actress Gabrielle Union (2L) and her husband, former professional basketball player Dwyane Wade, pose with daughters Zaya Wade (L) and Kaavia James Union Wade (2R) as they arrive for the “Cheaper by the Dozen” Disney premiere at the El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California, March 16, 2022. (CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Translatable will be funded by the Wade Family Foundation and will provide a community to “support growth, mental health, and well-being, and that this space ignites more conversations leading to greater understanding and acceptance.” Wade also pledged to use the “$250,000 in unrestricted funding that comes with the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award for Translatable,” according to ESPN.
Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina García Jayaram said her non-profit made a separate donation to Translatable after hearing Wade’s plans.
“Dwyane Wade and what he represents speaks to the ethos of the whole foundation,” Jayaram told the AP. “He is such a hero in the sports universe and even beyond basketball. He’s been in the social justice space almost since the very beginning of his NBA career, and most people don’t know that.”
Wade will also be launching Translatable in Florida – a state he previously fled due to its laws against transgenders in women’s sports.
Zaya Wade, Kaavia James Wade, 2023 inductee Dwyane Wade, and Zaire Wade attend the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Induction at Symphony Hall on August 12, 2023, in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
“We understand that in this state that, not everyone thinks the way some others think,” he said. “Like most things in life, once you get to know them, you have more ability to be understanding. And so if you don’t want to know them, then you stay ignorant in a sense.”
Alexander Roque, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth, said all bills that keep biological men out of women’s sports or women’s bathrooms are “acts of hate.”
“Not all bills turn into law, but they’re all acts of hate that affect our kids in very devastating ways,” he said. “We know statistically that every time there’s an anti-LGBTQ bill in the media, there’s a 400% increase in calls to suicide hotlines by young people.”
“We also know that we’re seeing a significant increase in unhoused LGBTQ youth because of family rejection. So to have someone of this celebrity so invested in the community, it’s helping to change the tide of what’s happening to our kids and perhaps one of the most hopeful moments in what I hope is a changing tide,” Roque added.
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