No matter how good or bad Dwight Howard may have been during and past his prime, it goes without a doubt that he’s a very likable character. He has had several comedic encounters on the court yet dominated when he had to. But no matter how great you are or how successful, life always hits you with the toughest battles. The ex-NBA player had to go through the worst just before becoming a first-time champion.
Over the years, Dwight has done a few things to make fans wonder if he was homosexual. But that’s just his character. Several fans have previously accused Howard of being secretly gay. At one point, a man named Masin Elije filed a lawsuit against Howard claiming that the athlete was in a romantic relationship with him. The issue stated by Elije was that Howard harassed him to sign an NDA after they broke up.
The former Los Angeles Lakers center countersued. He revealed on Fox Sports’ “Fair Game” that the incident deeply affected him. He said, “It hurt. I sat at home and I was like, ‘Man, I’ll never want to come outside again.’ I’m like, ‘Why?’ I’m not gay. It’s a lot of people who are and they have to hide… They have to put on the mask every day. It’s like, I don’t want to wear a mask. I just want to be.”
Howard claimed that he received a lot of hate following the lawsuit. He did not like the fact that an entire false story was created around him.
Dwight Howard has five children and was briefly married to WNBA’s Te’a Cooper
Putting aside his personal battles with people accusing him of being homosexual, Dwight Howard was quite the lady’s man. However, things got serious after he fathered five children with five different women. One particular relationship got terribly out of hand after he was accused of domestic violence against his son.
ROYCE REED OF THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MIAMI, ARRESTED FOR CHILD NEGLECT. HER 14 YR OLD SON SHE SHARES WITH DWIGHT HOWARD HAS BEEN MOLESTING CHILDREN‼️ pic.twitter.com/AVhyYmZb1w
— Andrea/FBA Goddess✊🏾 (@FBAGoddess444) March 12, 2022
Royce Reed had alleged that he abused their son Braylon. Dwight initially sued her for defamation after she violated a court order that prohibited her from using the athlete’s name publicly. However, Howard admitted that he was abusive toward Braylon, their son. But he did not feel that it was wrong because he was trying to discipline the child.
Congrats to Te’a Cooper’s fiancé, Dwight Howard on winning his first championship. Also S/O to @TeaCooper2 for being the only person to experience Wubble and Bubble life. #NBAPlayoffs #WNBA pic.twitter.com/fXyzUmp9Oh
— Women’s Hoopz (@WBBWorldWide) October 12, 2020
Five years later, Dwight would meet Te’a Cooper who plays in the WNBA. They got married in 2020 but separated in 2021. The former multiple-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year currently serves in Taiwan for the T1 League. He debuted with the Taoyuan Leopards back in November 2022. His last stint in the NBA was with the Lakers but he hopes that he gets another opportunity to play in the league again.