Former NBA superstar Dwight Howard is calling for the bombshell lawsuit accusing him of sexual attack and battery to be disregarded.
Howard’s lawyers declare that the stumble upon between their consumer and Stephen Harper engaged in a consensual stumble upon involving a 3rd particular person at Howard’s Georgia place of abode in July 2021, in step with a Thursday submitting that used to be acquired via ESPN.
Harper filed a lawsuit in July alleging that Howard and Harper started corresponding by the use of Instagram direct messages, with Harper starting up the trade. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him on the latter’s house all over the following July 2021 stumble upon.
Within the unique submitting, Harper incorporated alleged screenshots of messages exchanged between Harper and Howard from 2021, along side an Uber receipt to Howard’s area at the evening of the incident.
Howard denied the allegations in October, asking the case to be disregarded.
Howard’s lawyers allege that key textual content messages have been deleted and no longer found in Harper’s preliminary grievance. The submitting, in step with ESPN, incorporates the ones new messages along side a number of that Howard’s lawyers declare are doctored.
“In brief, the totality of the textual content messages between Mr. Howard and Mr. Harper make it abundantly transparent that Mr. Harper’s claims are frivolous, that he used to be a prepared player within the occasions of July 19, 2021, and the early morning hours of July 20, 2021, and that the touching of his particular person were invited via him,” Howard’s lawyers write in Thursday’s submitting.
“Extra importantly, the express messages no longer handiest display consent but additionally that Mr. Harper used to be starting up probably the most sexual touch. Mr. Harper no longer handiest invited the preliminary revel in, however attempted to begin a 2d stumble upon since the first used to be so stress-free. As it’s undisputed that Mr. Harper consented to the touching between him and Mr. Howard, Mr. Harper’s claims essentially fail, and Mr. Howard is entitled to abstract judgment because the transparent consent negates the crucial component of intent and the claims of Attack, Battery, False Imprisonment, and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Misery fall like a area of playing cards.”
Harper’s attorneys didn’t instantly reply to ESPN’s request for remark.
Howard’s lawyers now declare, according to the Thursday submitting, that the incident is “not anything greater than a vintage case of unrequited love. After one consensual match in combination, Mr. Howard used to be not keen on retaining Mr. Harper’s corporate.”
The submitting additionally alleges that Howard won more than one calls for for fee, every from other felony representatives over the process a yr.
The 38-year-old Howard has lengthy been dogged via rumors relating to his sexuality.
