Dwight Howard’s legal nightmare regarding alleged sexual assault and battery against Stephen Harper has come to an end, with Harper dropping the civil lawsuit on Monday, according to ESPN.
“A civil lawsuit against former NBA star Dwight Howard alleging sexual assault and battery has been dismissed, according to a court filing obtained by ESPN. The dismissal came Monday in Gwinnett County Court in Georgia and was filed by Stephen Harper, who initially filed the lawsuit against Howard in July 2023. In Monday’s filing, Harper dismissed all the claims he had asserted against Howard with prejudice, meaning he cannot refile a lawsuit on those claims.”
The lawsuit against Howard was filed in July 2023 when Dwight was on the precipice of signing with the Golden State Warriors. Despite Draymond Green all but confirming Howard’s workout with the team, Harper’s lawsuit came out which prompted the Warriors to look in other directions, with Dwight remaining out of the NBA.
The lawsuit against Howard stems from a July 2021 incident between Harper and Howard. Stephen Harper claims Howard performed nonconsensual oral sex on him, with the man in fear of rebuking the former NBA player as he was sexually assaulted. Later, Harper alleged that Howard tried forcing him to have a threesome with him and a man dressed as a woman.
Howard never denied what happened but claimed that all acts were consensual, which would make the lawsuit baseless. This led to a lot of controversy around Howard, whose sexuality has been debated by fans and media members for years.
While he isn’t under ongoing litigation anymore, it seems hard to imagine an NBA team coming to sign him now. The 38-year-old last played in the NBA as part of the Lakers in the 2021-22 season.
The Sexual Assault Lawsuit Ended Dwight Howard’s NBA Hopes
Dwight had made his goal of returning to the NBA clear from the second the 2022 offseason started, but he hasn’t received an NBA contract from anyone in the time since. He’s been playing basketball in Taiwan and establishing deeper ties within the nation as his NBA dream seems all but over.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was close to becoming a Warrior last season before the news of the lawsuit against him got out. Stephen A. Smith openly discussed how that lawsuit has permanently ended the chance of Howard getting a contract offer from an NBA team again.
“That’s why teams didn’t want you. Whether they would admit it or not, and I’m not going to mention teams because I don’t want to incriminate anybody or accuse anybody or something I simply don’t know, I’m guessing. But I’m saying is – that’s the first thought that came to my mind: that’s why they don’t want him.”
Howard had a phenomenal career with one of the best defensive primes we’ve seen in the modern era. He averaged 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks and won three DPOYs, shining bright as one of the best centers of the 2000s. His prime fizzled out early, but Dwight had an 18-year NBA career where he also became a champion in 2020.
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