In a recent appearance as a special guest on a podcast, basketball icon Dwyane Wade has spoken out about how proud he is of his son after he came out as gay.

Speaking on Showtime’s All the Smoke podcast Wednesday, the former Miami Heat player candidly spoke about how much his son, Zion Malachi Airamis, has had an influence on his views as a parent and a man. He also stated that his wife, Gabrielle Union, inspired him to accept his child's sexual identity.

Wade stated: "First of all, you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have. We want them to be whoever they feel that they can be in this world. That’s our goal. Understand you can be whoever and you can be whatever."

He continued: "Me and my wife are having conversations about, you know, us noticing that, you know, [Zion] wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire was on. And I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son comes home and tell you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act?’ It ain’t about him. He knows who he is. It’s about you. Who are you?"

Wade has also been forced to respond to the cruel comments his son had received regarding his appearance after Dwyane uploaded a family photo over Thanksgiving.

Wade took to Twitter to write: "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! [sic]"

In a recent appearance as a special guest on a podcast, basketball icon Dwyane Wade has spoken out about how proud he is of his son after he came out as gay.

Speaking on Showtime’s All the Smoke podcast Wednesday, the former Miami Heat player candidly spoke about how much his son, Zion Malachi Airamis, has had an influence on his views as a parent and a man. He also stated that his wife, Gabrielle Union, inspired him to accept his child's sexual identity.

Wade stated: "First of all, you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have. We want them to be whoever they feel that they can be in this world. That’s our goal. Understand you can be whoever and you can be whatever."

He continued: "Me and my wife are having conversations about, you know, us noticing that, you know, [Zion] wasn’t on the boy vibe that Zaire was on. And I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What if your son comes home and tell you he’s gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you going to act?’ It ain’t about him. He knows who he is. It’s about you. Who are you?"

Wade has also been forced to respond to the cruel comments his son had received regarding his appearance after Dwyane uploaded a family photo over Thanksgiving.

Wade took to Twitter to write: "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! [sic]"