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He is a former Lakers champ, is looking to have an NBA comeback, and now is sued

Not only there's a former Laker that hasn't been able to find an NBA team, but now has been involved in a major scandal, a sex assault accusation

By James Brown

Not only there's a former Laker that hasn't been able to find an NBA team, but now has been involved in a major scandal, a sex assault accusation

Allegations against the former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard continue, this comes after his failed attempt to return to the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, as he had two workouts for them only to be dismissed and start another season without a team.

Dwight Howard has denied sexual assault and battery allegations filed against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he is facing in Georgia.

With information by ESPN, with court documents obtained by them, Howard said Monday that he engaged in "consensual sexual activity" with a man named Stephen Harper during a July 2021 encounter at Howard's Georgia residence. Howard denied that he caused any injury to Harper, according to the filing.

In the original complaint filed in July, Harper's lawyers said he and Howard first began corresponding over direct messages on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the exchange. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him at Howard's home during the subsequent July 2021 encounter.

Dwight Howard denies those allegations

Harper's complaint also accused Howard of "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and false imprisonment. Howard's response denied those allegations. "What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law," one of Howard's attorneys, Justin Bailey, 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."

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