Dwight Howard breathes sigh of relief after s*xual assault charges get dropped

Former NBA champion and ex-Los Angeles Lakers star Dwight Howard was charged with s*xual assault and battery in 2023.

Dwight Howard breathes sigh of relief after s*xual assault charges get dropped

Dwight Howard plays in Taiwan after last playing in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers

Dwight Howard played in the NBA for 19 seasons. In all that time, he was known to be one of the most physically gifted players having the size to dominate the game. He eventually won an NBA championship in 2020 after taking on a role on the bench with the Lakers, redeeming himself from all the criticisms he received in the past. But since leaving the NBA in 2022, he has had to save his face after sexual assault charges were filed against him.

A man named Stephen Harper had filed the charges in 2023 against the former Defensive Player of the Year. The charges were that Howard had forcefully engaged in s*xual activities with him without consent. More than a year later, Harper has withdrawn the charges. ESPN’s Baxter Holmes reported that the Georgia native withdrew his complaints, meaning he cannot file another lawsuit with those complaints.

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It brings relief for the former Los Angeles Lakers star, who was subject to a lot of hate for his actions. After all, the charges suggested he had forced himself onto Stephen Harper at his home. But the former All-Star had claimed that it was consensual and denied the allegations.

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Howard’s lawyers have made it clear that they or the basketball star have not paid anything to Harper in order to withdraw the charges. This gives him a sigh of relief. Dwight Howard may have gone through a lot of criticisms, but this lawsuit shook his fans.

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Dwight Howard’s off-court issues have tarnished his image

Before Dwight Howard left the NBA, he had a reputation for being a man among boys. Taking a bench role on the championship-winning squad meant he set his ego aside to cement his legacy. But that legacy took hit after hit when one by one his personal life began to unravel.

The former Los Angeles Lakers star has had a long tryst with the mothers of his five children. But in 2019, Masin Elije came out with allegations that the center was bis*xual. Howard proceeded to file a defamation lawsuit against Elije, but dropped it this year before it went into the trial phase. Then his ex-wife Te’a Cooper filed for divorce. After all this, Stephen Harper’s lawsuit came out.

Now that the lawsuit is out of his life, he can try and rebuild that image. Dominating in Taiwan is one way to do it. As he knows there is no way an NBA team would want him back. Not when he is approaching age 39.

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