Sexual assault lawsuit against Dwight Howard gets dropped

Dwight Howard is no longer facing a civil lawsuit from a man who alleged sexual assault.

Stephen Harper filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Howard in July 2023, saying the eight-time NBA All-Star performed sexual acts on him without Harper’s consent. According to court documents that were obtained by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, Harper dismissed all the claims against Howard on Monday in Gwinnett County Court in Georgia. The claims were dismissed with prejudice, meaning Harper cannot refile any lawsuit related to them.

Howard’s attorney, Justin Bailey, told ESPN that Howard did not reach any type of financial settlement with Harper.

In his original complaint, Harper said he and Howard began exchanging messages in May 2021. Howard admitted to exchanging sexually explicit messages with Harper and said the two had "consensual sexual activity." Per ESPN, Howard's attorneys wrote in December that "After one consensual evening together, Mr. Howard was no longer interested in keeping Mr. Harper's company."

Howard had asked that the lawsuit be dismissed in a December filing, but a judge denied the request in February. The 38-year-old also opened up via social media about details of his sex life becoming public.

Howard has been playing professionally in Taiwan since 2022. He recently recruited two of his former teammates to join him. Howard originally played for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League and is now with the Taiwan Mustangs of The Asian Tournament.