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Dwight Howard has been the subject of controversy outside the basketball court for the past few months, and it has taken a toll on him. The eight-time NBA All-Star went live on Instagram in a preaching mood and spoke about his detractors.
In his live stream, Howard cited the Bible verse Matthew 16:23, which says about Jesus resisting temptation from Satan.
"Jesus said, get thee behind me Satan. You can't tempt me... and the devil flee. And the devil flee but only for a season. Look it up. Matthew. He only flee for a season. He came in and tempted Jesus. He did it in a couple ways," preached Howard.
As they say, there are three sides to the story - 'your side, my side and the truth'. Dwight Howard reckons people already judged him with the issues coming out, which are detrimental to his reputation. He hopes that his critics would change their ways.
"The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It was five thousand people talking on him. All speaking negativity. All saying negative stuff.
"All talking about crazy stuff. All that stuff. Just saying all the negative things that they could to try get my attention. So this message is for the people who that is really listening, who want to change their life," Howard continued.
The latest in Dwight Howard's case
Former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard has refuted sexual assault and battery accusations leveled against him. He urges the Georgia court to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed against him earlier this year.
In the court documents obtained by ESPN, Howard claimed that the encounter in July 2021 with Stephen Harper at his Georgia residence involved 'consensual sexual activity' as he denied any harm caused.
Harper's initial complaint alleged that Dwight Howard sexually assaulted him during their meeting in July, further accusing the former NBA player of intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.
Howard's response disputes this claim, asserting that the private encounter was exploited for profit and expressing confidence in the justice system to unveil the truth.
Harper's attorney, Olga Izmaylova, maintained that her client didn't not consent to the encounter. The complaint included alleged Instagram exchanges and an Uber receipt from the night of the incident.
Justin Bailey, Howard's attorney, suggested that the report follow Harper's social media blocks as he rejected demand for payment. The statute of limitations for this civil suit in Georgia is about two years from the incident date.
