Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard: I never said I was blackmailed – NBA Update
As the storm surrounding Dwight Howard and his tussle with the Orlando Magic management continues to gather pace, the All-Star centre has decided to come out and set the record straight on a few issues. While Howard admitted that he wanted to be traded,
the player categorically rejected reports that he had accused Orlando of blackmail.
When news broke that Howard was agitating for a move away from the Magic and had informed new General Manager Rob Hennigan of his intentions, the blackmail story also surfaced. According to rumours, Dwight said he was blackmailed into extending his contract
with Orlando for a year and was considering a legal complaint.
Howard, while speaking to Yahoo Sports, clarified that he had never claimed he was blackmailed and the story was totally fabricated.
"I never used the word blackmail in reference to any of my dealings with the Magic," Howard said. “I never said that. It’s defamatory and it’s inaccurate. I know what blackmail means and any report that I used the term incorrectly is inaccurate."
Howard extending the contract with Orlando for a year near the trade deadline last season after earlier reports had suggested he would not and enter the current summer as a free agent. He was though wary of being traded at the deadline, which prompted him
to commit another year to Orlando.
Afterwards things just went downhill for Orlando and Howard, with his coach Stan Van Gundy telling the press that the centre tried to have him fired. Howard, unaware of his coach’s accusation walked in to the interview and what followed was one of the most
awkward interviews in years.
Howard seconded the opinion that he had been set-up by Van Gundy.
“I did. I had no clue about what had happened, about what he had said.”
Stan Van Gundy was fired at the end of the season by Orlando, but criticism still came Dwight’s way. The 3-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year admitted that at times it has been hard to deal with the pressure.
“It hurts me to this day, thinking about how people were saying these things about me, calling me, "a coach killer," and all this crazy stuff. It upset me, it hurt a lot."
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