Dwight Howard and his representation submitted another filing Thursday to their petition in Georgia in an attempt to dismiss the sexual assault lawsuit against the former NBA All-Star. And as the details continue to emerge, the story continues to get stranger and stranger.
The accuser, 38-year-old Stephen Harper, filed the suit in July, claiming that he was invited to Howard’s home in 2021 for an intimate encounter when he was entrapped by both the basketball star and another man.
Harper then says that things got really Spartan from there – and that Dwight Howard went far beyond just ‘Netflix and chill’. He claims the 6’10” former center assaulted him during their encounter and forced him into three-way sex with the other man who was present. His allegations also include false imprisonment and causing undue emotional distress.
For his part, Dwight Howard has claimed that the entire affair was consensual and that Harper was fully aware of the game plan. Now, screenshots of conversations between the two have come into evidence, and they could expose the naked truth.
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Howard’s attorneys have argued that the alleged victim did NOT release full transcripts of the pair’s pillow talk, only cherry-picking the parts that served his needs. As more of their conversation has been released, the former NBA star’s legal team is now arguing that Harper’s case is flaccid.
“The totality of the text messages between Mr. Howard and Mr. Harper makes it abundantly clear that Mr. Harper’s claims are frivolous, that he was a willing participant in the events of July 19, 2021, and the early morning hours of July 20, 2021, and that the touching of his person had been invited by him,” Howard’s attorneys wrote in Thursday’s filing.
“More importantly, the explicit messages not only show consent but also that Mr. Harper was initiating some of the sexual contact,” the document continued. “Mr. Harper not only invited the initial experience but tried to initiate a second encounter because the first was so enjoyable.”
“As it is undisputed that Mr. Harper consented to the touching between him and Mr. Howard, Mr. Harper’s claims necessarily fail, and Mr. Howard is entitled to summary judgment as the clear consent negates the essential element of intent and the claims of Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress fall like a house of cards.”
Harper’s legal team has yet to publicly respond. However, many analysts believe that due to the sensitive and embarrassing nature of the suit, it will likely never be fully played out in court. Howard’s image has already been harmed enough, so he’ll probably offer up a settlement at some point to limit any more exposure.
And as for Harper? He should just take the money and avoid all the public scrutiny. This is probably something he doesn’t want to get caught in the middle of. (At least not again.)
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