Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is apparently in some hot water, as he is reportedly being sued by a man he allegedly met on Instagram.
“Dwight Howard has been slapped with a lawsuit accusing him of assaulting a man he met on Instagram and attempting to force him to have a threesome, RadarOnline.com has learned,” wrote Ryan Naumann.
“According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a man named Stephen Harper has filed a lawsuit filled with wild claims against the NBA star — including alleged assault and battery.”
The claims Harper has made against the three-time Defensive Player of the Year are lurid.
“In the lawsuit, Harper claims he reached out to Howard on Instagram on May 29, 2021, via his ‘secondary Instagram account,'” wrote Naumann. “He claimed to have sent his cell phone number.
“Harper claimed that Howard responded to his Instagram message by texting him the devil emoji. The two then continued texting.
“During their conversation, Howard allegedly asked Harper who he was messaging, to which Harper responded by ‘providing his name and sending [Howard] his main Instagram account information.’
“‘After viewing Mr. Harper’s Primary Account, [Howard] indicated that [Howard] was waiting on [Mr. Harper] to send pics.’
“Harper claimed Howard told him he was ‘into freaky’ sexual content and that he wanted to see Mr. Harper’s nudes and ‘c—shots,’ the suit alleged. Screenshots of the alleged convo also showed Howard telling Harper, ‘Now I want you to know I’m not like gay or anything. I’m jus a lil nasty sometimes. Ion wanna offend you.’
“Harper said the conversing went on, which led to them talking about meeting up in the summer. ‘From May of 2021 through July of 2021, Mr. Harper and [Howard] continued to exchange text messages, several of which included sexually explicit content, such as photographs and videos,’ the suit read.
“The suit said Howard contacted Harper on July 19, 2021, to tell him he was ‘thinking about that meat.’ He allegedly told Harper he wanted him to come to his Georgia home.
“Howard allegedly told Harper that his son was asleep, but he was alone. The wild lawsuit said Howard told Harper he would have to leave before everyone woke up.
“Harper said he took an Uber to Howard’s home. While en route, he claimed Howard texted him asking if Harper wanted to have a threesome with a ‘dude’ or a ‘girl.'”
Howard has played 18 seasons in the NBA, during which he has put together a Hall of Fame caliber resume. He’s led the league in rebounding average five times and blocked shots per game twice, and he was considered arguably the best big man in basketball during his prime.
He was traded to the Lakers in 2012 as they attempted to put together a team for the ages. That summer, they also acquired Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns, giving them four star players including Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
But lots of injuries torpedoed their championship hopes, and they got swept in the first round of the playoffs. Howard then left in 2013 as a free agent, and his career seemed to go downward from there.
When he came back to L.A. in 2019, he was seemingly a social pariah around the NBA. But he accepted a supporting role off the bench, and in doing so, he helped the team win the NBA championship, which seemed to repair his reputation among Lakers fans.
Howard then played another year with the squad during the 2021-22 season. He played for a pro basketball team in Taiwan last season and appears to have enjoyed his time overseas.
The Atlanta native seemed to tell Complex that he wants to return to the United States and play in the NBA once more, and he had the Lakers on a list of teams he would be able to make an impact on. His game has clearly declined over the last few years, and during his last stint in L.A., he didn’t even look like the same player he was a couple of seasons prior during his second stint there.
The Lakers do happen to be in the market for one more center. However, it’s unknown how much interest they have in bringing him back, or if they have any interest at all to begin with.
