Dwight Howard may have wanted to ignore the controversy surrounding him, but it became way too much after his eldest son, 12-year-old Braylon Howard, said his father wasn’t a real dad.
“As of right now, I hate you. And I’m not saying this because someone told me to. I actually hate you. You don’t talk to me at all. Once Laylah gets as old as me, she’s going to feel the same way. We made you a Roadblocks account so you could play with us when you were in Atlanta and we’re here. Do you ever play on it? No. You don’t eve play with us. The only time you play with us is when we’re with you and that’s rarely when we’re with you. Every time we go to the house, we’re always be Momma V. All of our parents have said we don’t need a nanny.”
After radio host Nina Brown, of the Frank Ski Radio Show, questioned Howard’s involvement in his children’s lives, he felt the need to step forward and clear his name.
Transcribed by Mademenoire:
“I’m not the person to get online or go through the media and bash anybody. The only thing I will address is the issue of anybody thinking I’m a deadbeat father. Currently, I have a child with me now. My son lives with me. There’s no way I could be a deadbeat dad if I have a son that lives with me. The situation with my other son, it’s unfortunate that a lot of things have been made public.
But even before this season started back up, he lived with me for three months. He stayed in my house, we woke up every morning, we worked out together, we ran together, we ate together. We did everything together. I followed me around the whole house. It was the most time me and have spent like that…
A lot of things that are being said, I hate that it’s our own people making it seem as though I’m somebody that I’m not. I’ve always been a great father. Is there areas of improvement? Of course, just like there is in life, with basketball , in anything that I do. I’ve never been that type of person. I lost one of my son’s mom–passed away earlier this year. I was given the responsibility to have my son with me full time. And he really has changed my life. He was one of the biggest reasons why I was able to go out there and help this team win the championship. There’s no way I could be this person that people say I am.”
When he was asked why the mother of his children had so many negative things to say about his parenting skills:
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“My only concern is that our kids get both parents in their life… I would never air out any dirty laundry of my kids’ moms or reasons why they’re upset. Being upset is not going to help any situation when you allow your emotions to get the best of you.”
When asked if Howard had reached out to this son Braylon after his comments:
“Unfortunately, I haven’t. It’s a lot of things that are going on, but it’s personal. I’d rather keep that side out.”
When asked if there was anything he’d like to say to Braylon or his mother:
“No matter what is going on, I love my son. I would never disrespect his mom. One day, we’ll be able to get past this toxicity and realize that we’re living in a day now where they’re kill off a lot of our Black men. And I don’t want anything to ever happen to my son. He’s too precious. His voice is great. He has a great mind. He’s spiritually inclined and I don’t want none of his life being taken away by toxic behavior from anybody. I love him to death, he knows that. He’ll always know that. Braylon has had the best life he can possibly have. He’s gone to the best schools.
I’ve been a provider for him. Anything that he’s ever needed or wanted, he’s always had. And I would never put him in a position like that. He is my firstborn son. He has my name and I will always take care of him. But I think it’s going to turn out great for all of us. We just have to be able to change our mindset, how we speak, how we act and how we treat each other. So instead of me responding out of hate, I’m going to keep responding out of love. It’s too much hate and negativity.”
