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Magic Johnson has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ community since his son, E.J., came out as gay in 2013.

Former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade recently said Johnson was one of his biggest supporters when Wade revealed his daughter, Zaya, was transgender in 2019.

At the time, Wade said he and wife Gabrielle Union "didn't have many resources" to rely on and that's when Johnson and his wife stepped in to help.

“We've always been people who try to do the right thing and do the thing we were supposed to do," Johnson said in an Entertainment Tonight. “No way we were not going to support our son. No way we were going to not love him. As we tell him, ‘Be who you want to be, we going to love you regardless, we going to support you.’”

Johnson and his wife Cookie know the public scrutiny as parents of a gay child. Union said that Johnsons' advice helped their family deal with Zaya.

"It's all about perseverance and putting your family first, and loving every member of your family equally and out loud,” Union said. “And they showed us the way. They gave us the blueprint. And literally, every step of the way, in my career, in his career, they have been there."

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.