Orlando Magic centre Dwight Howard says he never faked injury, played through pain – NBA Update
Dwight Howard underwent back surgery at the end of the 2011-2012 NBA season and did not take part in the playoffs. The forward is still recovering from the procedure but has had to deal with accusations of faking the injury.
The Orlando Magic centre has now decided to speak out against the accusations levelled at him, saying he never faked any injury and was seriously hurt.
"I’ve never faked anything," Howard told Yahoo! Sports. "I’d never fake a back injury to not play for my team. I played a lot of games in a lot of pain, and there were times that I was crying in the locker room afterward because I was so seriously hurt.
But I kept fighting.”
Howard, who has earned the nickname “Superman” clarified that he has given his all over the years to the cause of Orlando Magic and played through pain on many occasions.
“I’ve played with a cracked sternum in the past, and played with a lot of different [injuries].”
The allegations of faking the injury were levelled at Howard because of the breakdown in his relationship with then coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy claimed to the press right before an NBA game that Dwight had tried to get him fired. The coach’s direct assault
on his player led to Howard coming in for much criticism and when he suffered the back injury people picked up on it.
Stan Van Gundy was fired after the season ended and Howard is also demanding to be traded now. He still though wants it to be crystal clear that he never faked any injuries and accusations in this regard left him very upset.
"It really upset me that anyone would say that I was doing something out of spite for my team or my city. I have the utmost respect for the Magic organization, for the people of Orlando.”
The saga around Howard has been going on since before the trade deadline of last season and is still at fever pitch with his latest demands of being traded, reportedly to the Brooklyn Nets. The Magic have completely changed the management and fired the coach,
and now it seems only with Howard’s departure can all the noise be brought to an end.
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