Former NBA star Dwight Howard has filed court documents seeking to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting a man. Per ESPN, the complaint in question was filed earlier this year, but the NBA champion on Monday denied the sexual assault and battery allegations brought against him.
Howard in the documents said that he and a man identified as Stephen Harper engaged in “consensual sexual activity” at Howard’s home in Georgia in July 2021. The 37-year-old NBA champion, however, said he did not injure Harper during their encounter, the filing states.
Harper’s lawyers in the July 2023 lawsuit stated that their client and Howard initially started communicating via direct Instagram messages in May 2021, adding that it was Harper who first reached out to Howard. Harper claimed he was sexually assaulted by Howard when they later met at the former Los Angeles Lakers star’s residence in July 2021.
“We fully anticipated Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his Answer,” Olga Izmaylova, who is Harper’s attorney, told ESPN. The attorney also claimed what the two did was not consensual.
