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The man who accused former Los Angeles Lakers star Dwight Howard of sexual assault and battery dropped the civil lawsuit he initially filed against him, according to ESPN.
The case was dismissed Monday, August 19, in Gwinnett County Court in Georgia.
By filing a dismissal of all the claims he had against Howard with prejudice, Harper can no longer refile a lawsuit on those claims.
Howard’s camp through Justin Bailey, one of his attorneys, maintained that Harper was not paid to drop the lawsuit, according to ESPN.
Harper initially filed the lawsuit in July 2023, two years after his alleged encounter with Howard, who was still a member of the Lakers in 2021. He accused the eight-time NBA All-Star center of sexually assaulting him, “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and false imprisonment.
Howard denied Harper’s allegations in an October 2023 filing, according to ESPN. The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year claimed in his defense that his encounter with Harper was a “consensual sexual activity.”
In the original complaint obtained by ESPN, Harper’s lawyers claimed their client and Howard initially talked via Instagram direct message in May 2021. Harper showed a couple of evidence to prove his claims — screenshots of the alleged Instagram chats between him and Howard and an Uber receipt of his trip to the ex-NBA star’s residence in Georgia on the night of the alleged encounter.
It took one year for Harper to report the incident to the Gwinnett County Police Department, according to ESPN. No charges were filed at that time.
“This is nothing more than a classic case of unrequited love,” Howard’s lawyers wrote in the December filing obtained by ESPN. “After one consensual evening together, Mr. Howard was no longer interested in keeping Mr. Harper’s company.”
Dwight Howard Takes His Act to Asia After NBA
Howard, 38, took his act to Asia following his third stint with the Lakers in 2022, which proved to be his last in the NBA. He won a championship with the Lakers in 2020 in the Orlando Bubble as Anthony Davis‘ backup.
Howard first showcased his talent in Taiwan’s professional basketball league during the 2022-23 season. Despite his advanced age, the 6-foot-10 Howard still dominated the inferior competition, winning the Most Valuable Import award and the All-Star Game MVP, among many accolades.
After his Taiwan stint, he played for the Philippine-based team Strong Group along with fellow former NBA players Andray Blatche and Andre Roberson and undrafted McKenzie Moore.
Despite their star-studded lineup, the team fell short of the championship and settled for a silver medal finish in the Dubai International Basketball Championship in January 2024.
Then Howard became part owner-player of Taiwan Mustangs and recruited fellow ex-Lakers DeMarcus Cousins and Quinn Cook for The Asian Tournament.
Howard was last spotted in the Philippines vacationing with his kids in July.
Failed NBA Comeback Bid
Last year, Howard attempted an NBA comeback with the Golden State Warriors.
But he never came close despite the buzz as he was spotted training with several Warriors veterans. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said at that time that Howard was only one of the players they brought in to be evaluated.
Unfortunately for Howard, the Warriors believe they have enough bigs to contend this season.
“We’ve got five guys that can play center in training camp,” Dunleavy said about Howard in September 2023. “To me, it’s a position that you can’t play multiple of them. So, I want to make sure everybody gets enough reps, and I think that’s been our discussion with the coaching staff as well, and I think that’s the path we’ll head down from there again.”
Following his failed NBA comeback bid, Howard posted a cryptic tweet.
“Only as a WARRIOR can one withstand the path of knowledge. A WARRIOR cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge. And challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges. Go be [Great] [emojis],” Howard said in his post on X, formerly Twitter.
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