Former NBA superstar Dwight Howard — an Orlando Magic legend who won the 2020 championship with the Los Angeles Lakers — has denied sexual assault and battery allegations filed against him earlier in 2023, and has requested that the court dismiss a civil lawsuit against him in Georgia, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.
Howard admitted Monday to “consensual sexual activity” with a man named Stephen Harper that took place at Howard’s residence in Georgia, according to ESPN. In the filing, Howard denied that he injured or caused any harm to Harper.
The attorneys for Harper say that he and Howard first started communicating through Instagram direct messages in May 2021, with Harper initiating the conversation, according to the original complaint, per the outlet. Harper alleges that the eight-time NBA All-Star sexually assaulted him in July of the same year.
“We fully anticipated Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his Answer,” Harper’s lawyer, Olga Izmaylova, told ESPN, claiming that Harper did not provide consent.
Harper is also accusing Howard of “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and false imprisonment, according to the complaint via ESPN, with Howard denying the allegations.
NEWS: Former NBA star Dwight Howard has denied sexual assault and battery allegations filed against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he is facing in Georgia, according to court documents obtained by ESPN. https://t.co/ID0G37hVKT
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) October 25, 2023
“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. The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth,” Justin Bailey, an attorney for Howard, told ESPN. “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.”
Included with Harper’s complaint are screenshots of alleged Instagram conversations that took place in 2021 between Harper and Howard, as well as an Uber receipt for Harper’s trip to Howard’s home the night of the alleged assault, according to ESPN.
A year later, Harper went to police, ESPN reported, citing the Gwinnett County Police Department’s incident report from July 2022. No criminal charges were filed.
“This report was made following Mr. Harper being blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected,” Bailey said, per ESPN.
Dwight Howard has confirmed having ‘consensual sexual activity’ with a man but is denying sexual assault allegations dating back to 2021
He was also accused of forcing a man into a threesome with another man dressed as a woman named ‘Kitty.’
READ: https://t.co/GmZe3uVZjO pic.twitter.com/aQ8m8763UG
— OutKick (@Outkick) October 25, 2023
The statute of limitations in Georgia for the type of civil lawsuit Howard faces is two years from the date of the incident, ESPN noted.
“We had some independent investigation to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to consider before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit,” Izmaylova said, per the outlet. (RELATED: The NBA Is Back! Here’s Andrew Powell’s Forecast Heading Into The New Season (Preview And Predictions)
The 37-year-old Dwight Howard last played in the NBA for the Lakers in the 2021-22 season, and last played basketball in 2022-23 for the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan, according to ESPN.