A Miami judge has ordered basketball player Dwyane Wade to immediately surrender his two sons to their mother for a previously scheduled visitation arrangement, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
Dade County Circuit Court Judge Antonio Marin denied the emergency motion filed on July 22 seeking to withhold visitation from the player's ex-wife, Siohavughn Funches, unless she submitted to his demands that she get a psychological evaluation.
"The judge granted our motion for a directed finding that Mr. Wade failed to make a prima facie case; there was no basis for withholding or modifying Ms. Funches-Wade's visitation," said Funches-Wade's attorney, Brian Hurst, according to the Chicago Sun Times. "She's lost eight days with her children. Under their custody judgment, she's now entitled to compensatory time."
The Miami Heat star, who was a part of a group of celebrities that grazed the cover of Ebony Magazine in a hoodie as a representation for justice for 17-year-old victim Trayvon Martin, was awarded full custody of Zaire and Zion in 2011, but Funches is allowed two full weeks per month during the summer, among other regular visits, according to Gossip Extra.
"My life changed in a huge way," Wade told the Associated Press. "Mentally, I've been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it's bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids' lives sometimes. You fight until you can't fight any more. That's all I was trying to be, a father in his kids' lives."
The children, Zaire, 9, and Zion, 4, have been in Chicago since July 22, when they were supposed to be delivered to their mother for a scheduled two-week visit, attorneys for both sides told the Chicago Sun-Times.
"On behalf of Mr. Wade, we are satisfied. If we hadn't brought that motion, there was no other way to call the court's attention to her erratic behavior in the courthouse and at Daley Plaza," said Wade's attorney, James Pritikin. "An evaluation for anger management is the same thing as a psychological evaluation. . . . Tomorrow morning, they're going to begin a period of visitation with their mother."
The couple married in 2002. Wade filed for divorce from Funches-Wade in 2007. The divorce was finalized in 2010. Wade is now dating actress Gabrielle Union.
The court case followed a five-day trial in Chicago over the couple's finances, ending in a $5 million settlement for Funches-Wade. She also has full ownership of their Chicago mansion, for cars and "non-disparage" agreement that prevents both parties from publicly degrading one another, according to the Huffington Post.
