Dwight Howard’s ‘Free Palestine’ Tweet Delete Claim False, NBA Says

Dwight Howard isn’t telling the truth, at least according to the NBA.

The eight-time NBA All Star recently said he was told to delete a 2014 tweet supporting Palestine during a call with league commissioner Adam Silver. That claim is “categorically false” and Silver did not contact the former Orlando Magic star, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in an email on Wednesday. Howard, who was a member of Houston Rockets at the time, said the tweet jeopardized his playing career.

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“I tweeted Free Palestine,” Howard said during a recent podcast appearance on The Gauds Show podcast. “Less than 10 minutes (later), I get a call from the commissioner of the NBA, agents, people working with my foundation at the time … [telling me] ‘you have to erase this tweet, you have to take it down’.”

Howard and his media rep didn’t immediately respond for comment when contacted on Wednesday.

The former NBA champion, who last played in the NBA during the 2021-2022 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, took his career overseas in 2022 and most recently played for the Taiwan Mustangs, teaming up with ex-NBA star DeMarcus Cousins and former Lakers teammate Quinn Cook. His deal with the Mustangs also reportedly made him part owner of The Asian Tournament (TNT) team. The 39-year-old, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times and has Hall of Fame worthy career numbers, has previously said that he still wants to return to the NBA despite his age.

“It’s because I went against the grain and said something that people didn’t like,” Howard told Gauds host Ray Daniels. “When you’re in the league, you’re in a place where if (you) say too much, (you) may not get a job anymore. I got to hold my tongue which is so hard to do.”

Howard’s claim that the NBA tried to suppress his attempt to raise awareness around the plight of Palestinians has drawn wide attention on social media and online with multiple Middle East publications reporting on his statement. Several pro-Palestine activists have chimed in on Howard’s claim while denouncing the league, which separately has been criticized for its complex business relationship with China.

Howard, who was aiming to support the Palestinian community he met in Houston, says the tweet situation which came during the 2014 Gaza war highlights the pressure players regularly face to remain silent on controversial topics. His recent claim involving the NBA a decade later comes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian military groups, which has resulted in the death of more than 45,000 Palestinians since the attack on October 7 in southern Israel, according to Reuters.

Howard, who reignited his beef with Hall of Famer turned sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal over what he views as O’Neal’s lack of respect for him during the same podcast appearance, separately has made off-the-court headlines over the last year. Businessman Calvin Darden Jr. was convicted in October of scamming Howard out of millions of dollars in a false scheme with help of his former agent Charles Briscoe, who pleaded guilty to his role in perpetuating the fraud back in 2023.

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