Ex-NBA player Dwight Howard has been accused of sexual assault and battery against a man named Stephen Harper, with the incident taking place in July 2021 at his Georgia residence, reports ‘The New York Post’.
Howard maintains that he engaged in ‘consensual sexual activity’ and denies causing injury to Harper, with the pair meeting up after talking on Instagram since May 2021.
The former-Los Angeles Lakers center and NBA champion has requested that the court dismisses the case against him, which was filed in July 2023 and is a civil, not criminal, affair taking the form of a lawsuit.
Harper had also taken to Gwinnett County Police Department in July 2022, but did not file any charges against Howard.
“What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law,” an attorney called Justin Bailey, told ESPN. “The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth.
“The truth is Mr. Howard blocked Mr. Harper on social media and then was confronted with two options: pay to protect his reputation, or have a fabricated story made public.
“Despite being an easy target due to the subject matter and his status as a celebrity, Mr. Howard chose to trust in the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves.”
The NBA-veteran of 18 seasons most recently played his trade in the T1 League for the Taoyuan Leopards, a professional competition in Taiwan, which is also known as Chinese Taipei.
Howard was an eight-time All Star, eight-time All-NBA Team, five-time All-Defensive Team and three-time Defensive Player of the Year and spent eight years with the Orlando Magic.
Also an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2008 games in Beijing, China, he has a net-worth in the region of $140m, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Lakers lose on opening night
The Californian franchise travelled to the defending champions on opening night as they faced the Denver Nuggets at the Ball Arena. The Colorado team won the contest 119-107, thanks to a poor second half from the Lakers and particularly Anthony Davis who was slammed by Stephen A. Smith after the game.
“Atrocious. Very concerning,” Smith said to First Take (ESPN). “Ladies and gentlemen: You just saw the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers ain’t going to win no championship this year.
“I’m so ticked off at Anthony Davis right now. It’s an embarrassment what happened with him yesterday.”
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