Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union welcomed their first daughter together to the world last week when their surrogate gave birth in Los Angeles. Wade posted a picture to Instagram on Sunday of him watching his Chicago Bears while holding his daughter and looking generally tired as new parents do.
Wade will remain in L.A. with Union and their daughter for at least another week, as he told the Associated Press‘ Tim Reynolds he’d miss the next four games before making a determination on when he’ll return to the Heat.
“With my daughter coming a couple weeks early, she’s a little tiny right now, so we’re making sure health-wise that she’s OK,” Wade said. “And for me, once I leave and go back to the season, not really being able to be with me everywhere I go, this time right now, this bonding moment with my daughter is the most important thing in my life at this time. And then I’ll go from there, see how she’s doing and make a decision based on that.”
Wade’s departure from the Heat comes with the team’s support, and Wade will take however much time he feels is needed by Union and his daughter before he returns to his final season in the NBA. Male athletes, like most men in the U.S., rarely take significant amounts of time for paternity leave and there have been some that stupidly question whether a player should skip a game for the birth of his child at all.
It’s good to see Wade insisting on taking extended time to tend to his wife and child, and hopefully it can set a tone that men in all walks of life should feel more comfortable taking time away from work after the birth of a child — and, more importantly, being afforded that opportunity by employers.
