Dwyane Wade tells Ellen DeGeneres: My wife and I are proud parents of an LGBTQ+ child

Dwyane Wade said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that he and his actress wife are the parents of a transgender child.

During Tuesday's episode of "Ellen," the 38-year-old retired NBA star revealed, “Me and my wife Gabrielle Union are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community."

“And we are proud allies as well," Wade continued. "We take our roles and our responsibility as parents very seriously. So when our child comes home with a question, when a child comes home with an issue, when a child comes home with anything, it’s our job as parents to listen to that, to give them the best information that we can, to give them the best feedback that we can — and that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved in it.”

The athlete said that his 12-year-old child now goes by the name Zaya and uses she/her pronouns.

“So once Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home — first Zion, I don’t know if everyone knows, originally named Zion, born as a boy — came home and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I’m ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as she and her, I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,’ ” Wade shared.

Wade told DeGeneres that he wants to give Zaya "the best opportunity to be her best self," adding that he and Union are getting educated on LGBTQ issues and that Union had "reached out to everybody on the cast of 'Pose.' " The Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk-produced FX series depicts the lives of LGBTQ people in the ballroom and club culture of the 1980s and '90s in New York City.

DeGeneres praised Wade for his open-minded attitude and acceptance of Zaya.

“First of all, I think it’s what every parent should be is what you’re being right now,” DeGeneres said. “Which is unconditionally loving your child and supporting your child in whoever they are.”

After Wade's interview on "Ellen," Union posted an Instagram video of Zaya in which she speaks about her decision to live her truth.

"Meet Zaya. She's compassionate, loving, whip smart and we are so proud of her," Union captioned the clip. "It’s Ok to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are. Love and light good people."

In the video, Zaya says, "[To anyone who is] afraid they will be judged, I would say, you know, don't even think about that. Just be true to yourself. ... What's the point in being on this Earth if you're going to try to be someone you're not? It's like you're not even living as yourself, which is, like, the dumbest concept to me."

"I know it can get tough, definitely," she continued. "But I think you push through and you be the best you, and especially more recently it's become more accepting, even though there's obviously a lot of people out there who still are set more in the 'back in their days' way of mind. But I think even through hard times, you gotta just push through. It's worth it."

Wade is also father to daughter Kaavia, 1; sons Xavier, 6, and Zaire, 18; and the guardian of nephew Dahveon Morris, 18. He had his first two children, including Zaya, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches and gained sole custody of them a year after the couple's 2010 divorce. Son Xavier was born in 2013 out of a relationship Wade had while he and Union, who began dating in 2009, were briefly broken up. The couple eventually wed in 2014 and welcomed Kaavia via gestational carrier in 2018. Union was previously married to NFL player Chris Howard from 2001 to '06.