The civil lawsuit against Dwight Howard alleging the sexual assault and battery of a Georgia man has been dismissed, according to online records.
In a lawsuit filed in October, the former NBA star was accused of forcing Stephen Harper into a threesome in July of 2021 after the two began conversing over social media. Harper also accused Howard of intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.
Harper agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning he cannot sue Howard again over these allegations.
No money exchanged hands in the case, Howard’s attorney Justin Bailey told DailyMail.com.
The 38-year-old eight-time All-Star previously denied the accusations through his attorney, who claimed Howard was the victim of an extortion attempt.
Dwight Howard of the Taoyuan Leopards reacts at the court during the T1 League game
‘The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested,’ attorney Justin Bailey told ESPN in October. ‘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.’
Howard also issued his own denial, while attacking the public interest in the case.
‘Mind your business,’ he told his viewers. ‘They saying you going on dates with dudes, bro? Why the hell do you or anybody cre who the hell I spend my time with? That’s the problem with y’all people.
‘That ain’t for everybody on the internet,’ he continued. ‘That ain’t for no blogs. That ain’t for no websites. I don’t got to tell nobody where I put my wood.
‘You just mad because I wasn’t text messaging [you]. You’re ugly. That’s what it is. Worrying about the wrong stuff.
‘I don’t got to deny it. I don’t got to talk about none of that crap. This s*** didn’t even happen.’
In one purported exchange, Howard is seen allegedly inviting Harper to his home
Howard attends the game between the Cavs and Magic during the 2024 NBA Playoffs
Harper shared screenshots in the lawsuit of purported Instagram exchanges with Howard as well as an Uber receipt to the NBA star’s home on the night of the alleged encounter.
He also went to police in July of 2022 to report an incident, according to ESPN. However, no charges were ever filed.
‘This report was made following Mr. Harper being blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected,’ Bailey told ESPN.
Georgia has a two-year statute of limitations for filing such a civil lawsuit, but Harper’s attorney told ESPN at the time there were extenuating circumstances.
‘We had some independent investigation to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to considered before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit’ Harper’s attorney, Olga, Izmaylova told ESPN in 2023.
Howard has been out of the NBA since 2022. While he won a league title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, he is best remembered for his tenure with the Orlando Magic, for whom he won three NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors.
A father of five children from five different women, Howard has been outspoken about his faith since arriving in the NBA straight out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in 2004.
In 2022, he signed to play for the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan, where was named Most Valuable Import at the end of the 2023 season. Since then he has signed with the Taiwan Mustangs.
