Dwyane Wade's ex-wife accused him of exploiting their 15-year-old transgender daughter for financial gain and is begging a court to stop him from changing her name and gender on her birth certificate.

In court documents filed this week that were obtained by The Blast, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, the star's first wife and mother of his two older children, begged a judge to impose an order that would prevent her daughter Zaya, 15, from legally changing her gender from male to female until she is 18. 

Zaya, as she is now known, came out of the closet in 2019, when she was 12. Since then, she has won modeling contracts with brands like Tiffany and Dove, amassing hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. According to her mother, she is also discussing a deal with Disney.

She often appears on red carpets with her father and stepmother Gabrielle Union, who have often spoken in interviews about their acceptance of the child and her choice.

However, the teenager's mother fears her father is pressuring her to make a permanent change and is "ready to profit" from the transition.

"I am concerned that (Dwyane) may be pressuring our son to go through with the name and gender change to capitalize on the financial opportunities he has received from companies," she said in her legal filing.

This was Siohvaughn's response to an August petition from Wade to allow Zaya to legally change her name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.

In his August filing, the former athlete claimed that he had the legal right to make decisions on behalf of his daughter and that he was only informing his ex-wife "out of courtesy."

Wade gained full custody of the children after he divorced their mother in 2011. In a 2012 interview with MailOnline, the children's mother detailed her agony at losing them to her ex-husband after a four-year court battle.

She believes he was only awarded custody because of her money and fame.

"I think the influence had a lot to do with it. Fame had a lot to do with it. Money had a lot to do with that," she said at the time.

Now, she says her ex-husband is "ready" to benefit from their child’s transition.

She cited a conversation in April during which he claims Dwyane told her "that a lot of money had already been made and additional money will be made in connection with the name and gender of our child."

"[Dwyane] told me that he intended to make our son very famous because of the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be sponsorships/contracts associated with that," she said. 

"I am concerned that our child is being marketed at a young age and also the uncontrollable consequences of media exposure, i.e., cyberbullying, statements and/or pictures taken out of context of our child, and unwanted attention focused on our child."

The law is not specific or clear when it comes to divorced parents agreeing and making decisions on behalf of their transgender children.

In her filing, Siohvaughn claims that Dwyane is legally obligated to consult her on "major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education, and religious upbringing."

Yet Dwyane says he has the right to decide on Zaya's behalf, regardless of his mother's opinion.

A hearing was set for December to determine whether Zaya can change her name and sex without her mother's consent.

Siohvaughn and Wade were married between 2002 and 2010. They also have an older son, Zaire, 20.