NBA great Dwyane Wade launches Translatable, an online community supporting transgender youth

MIAMI BEACH, Florida – NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was back in South Florida on Thursday to fight again.

He spent more than 14 seasons as a point guard for the Miami Heat, winning three championships, nicknamed Miami-Dade County “Wade County,” and still leads the franchise in everything from points and rebounds to personal fouls. But the struggle he described Thursday at The Elevate Prize Foundation’s Make Good Famous Summit, after receiving the nonprofit’s Elevate Prize Catalyst Award, may be his most personal of all.

“We did so many good things here, so it wasn’t easy to leave,” Wade told The Associated Press in an interview before the awards ceremony. “But the community wasn’t here for Zaya, so the community wasn’t here for us.”

Wade’s daughter Zaya, who turns 17 next week, came out as transgender in 2020 amid anti-trans legislation in Florida and other states that led many trans adults to flee the state. The Wade family sold their Florida home last year and moved to California.

Upon accepting the award, Wade shared it with Zaya and credited her for inspiring the creation of Translatable, a new online community designed to support trans kids and their families.

“The question was presented to her as, ‘If there’s one thing you want to change in this community, what would it be?’” Wade recalled. “And for her, it goes straight to her parents. It goes straight to the adults. It goes straight to us. It’s not the children. It’s us. And so she wanted to create a space that was safe for parents and children. That’s what Translatable is, and it’s her baby.”

Wade hopes that Translatable, which is funded by the Wade Family Foundation, will provide a community to “support growth, mental health and well-being, and that this space will spark more conversations that lead to greater understanding and acceptance.” He said he will use the $250,000 in unrestricted funding that comes with the Elevate Prize Catalyst for Translatable award.

Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina Garcìa Jayaram said that after hearing Wade’s plans, her nonprofit made a separate additional donation to Translatable.

“Dwyane Wade and what he represents speaks to the spirit of the entire foundation,” Jayaram told the AP. “He is a great hero in the sports universe and beyond basketball. He’s been in the social justice space almost since the beginning of his NBA career and most people don’t know that.”

Jayaram said Wade felt empowered when Zaya came out as transgender in 2020 and it was “so deeply inspiring to us that we were dying to be a part of what he’s building.”

The Elevate Prize Catalyst Award helps its winners, which include actors Matt Damon and Michael J. Fox and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, expand their philanthropic work by using the foundation’s resources and connections to inspire more donors and supporters.

Jayaram also praised Wade’s decision to launch Translatable in Florida, “a place where many may feel a sense of exclusion.”

Wade said Translatable, built with support from the Human Rights Campaign and the Trevor Project, will focus on supporting communities of color and emphasize the importance of parents and family.

“We understand that in this state not everyone thinks the way some others think,” he said. “Like most things in life, once you know them, you have more capacity to be understanding. And so, if you don’t want to know them, you will remain ignorant in a sense.”

Alexander Roque, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth, said Translatable comes at a critical time for transgender youth, with more than 500 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation introduced this year.

“Not all bills become law, but they are all acts of hate that affect our children in very devastating ways,” he said. “We know statistically that every time there is an anti-LGBTQ bill in the media, there is a 400% increase in calls to suicide hotlines from young people. We also know that we are seeing a significant increase in LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness due to family rejection. So having someone of this celebrity so invested in the community is helping to turn the tide of what’s happening to our kids and perhaps one of the most hopeful moments in what I hope will be a changing tide.”

Michelle Forcier, a physician at FOLX Health, which provides healthcare services to LGBTQIA+ people across the country, said creating an online community for trans youth is one specific program that would be helpful.

“Young people are all about electronic and online communication, socialization and communities,” she said. “So if you’re trying to support young people, it only makes sense to be part of how young people feel more comfortable communicating.”

The fact that this community comes from a celebrity ally makes it more impactful, Forcier said.

“The transgender and gender diverse community does not have the deep pockets – including financial, political and media resources – that the anti-transgender and anti-diversity political and advocacy community does,” she said. “Having an advocate who shows up for some of our most vulnerable – transgender and gender diverse youth and the families who care for them – would be a truly heroic act and possibly completely game-changing.”

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