Lakers center Dwight Howard responds to 12-year-old son calling him ‘deadbeat dad’

Dwight Howard has recently responded to his son who criticized him publicly through social media.

The 12-year-old boy called his father a “deadbeat dad” which did not sit well with Howard, who addressed the issue in an interview on the Frank Ski Show with Nina Brown.

“I’m not the person to get online or go through the media and bash anybody,” Howard said. “The only thing I will address is the issue of anybody thinking I’m a deadbeat father. Currently, I have a child with me now. My son lives with me. There’s no way I could be a deadbeat dad if I have a son that lives with me. The situation with my other son, it’s unfortunate that a lot of things have been made public.”

Braylon Howard is the son of the Los Angeles Lakers center with Royce Reed, a former Orlando Magic dancer. Reed also spoke out against the elder Howard earlier for neglecting his duties as a father.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t [spoken to Braylon],” said Howard. “It’s a lot of things that are going on, but it’s personal. I’d rather keep that side out. No matter what is going on, I love my son. I would never disrespect his mom. One day, we’ll be able to get past this toxicity and realize that we’re living in a day now where they’re kill off a lot of our Black men. And I don’t want anything to ever happen to my son. He’s too precious. His voice is great. He has a great mind.”

Aside from Braylon, the 16-year veteran has four other children with four different women.

The elder Howard celebrated his first championship when the Lakers won the title last season. Having the spotlight on him for contributing mightily to the Lakers’ first title since 2010, he is receiving backlash for not having similar success in his personal life.