People are talking about Dwight Howard’s sexual assault all wrong. Here’s why.
Earlier this year, a man by the name of Stephen Harper filed a complaint, accusing the former NBA all-star of sexual assault and battery during an encounter at Howard’s house in 2021.
Allegedly, Harper and Howard began messaging each other on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the conversation between the two. After messaging each other for a while, and sending sexually explicit messages, the two planned to meet up at Howard’s Atlanta home, according to ESPN.
In July 2021, when Harper took an Uber to the former NBA player’s home, he claimed that Howard forced him to have a threesome involving another man. Harper claims that he did not consent to the sexual encounter. He also claims to have screenshots of the messages sent on Instagram and an Uber receipt for when he went to Howard’s home.
Although Harper claims the encounter occurred in July 2021, Harper did not go to the police until July 2022. No criminal charges have been filed against Howard.
In response to the complaint, Howard has denied sexual assault and battery allegations made against him, but has admitted to having a consensual sexual encounter with Harper.
Justin Bailey, Howard’s attorney, told ESPN, “The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth. 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.”
Why the discussion around Howard has been inappropriate
I explained the nature of these allegations to tell you that the discourse surrounding them has been even more disappointing. Instead of people being more bothered about the sexual assault allegations, people are using this lawsuit as an opportunity to make fun of Howard’s sexuality.
Just check some of the tweets below (and trust me, these are some of the less explicit ones):
He’s being accused of sexual assault! Who cares about the gender of the victim, either way, it’s still a terrible act to be accused of. It just further reveals just how disgustingly homophobic sports fans can be.
They don’t care about the victim. They don’t care that he was allegedly forced into committing a sexual act. They care that Dwight Howard is gay, that’s all.
What about Stephen Harper’s health? Is he doing okay? Does he feel safe? I’m not seeing enough of those questions. I’m seeing more jokes talking about how “freaky” Dwight Howard is. It’s a shame to witness.
But to be honest, it’s something that shouldn’t surprise me. I already knew that some sports fans could be disgustingly homophobic. It’s just a shame to see it in real-time.