Sports Illustrated is reporting that there remains an active child abuse case involving Houston Rockets big man Dwight Howard, who has been on the receiving end of allegations from the mother of his child.
According to the SI report, authorities in Georgia didn’t originally have enough evidence against Howard to continue the investigation. This new report now indicates that more information has come to light.
A Cobb County Police sergeant told NBC News that the investigation stems from an incident from this summer. Originally, police said they did not have enough evidence to proceed past an initial investigation, but new information came to light to trigger renewed interest from authorities in the case, according to NBC.
Howard has had an up-and-down relationship with the mother of this six-year-old boy. Her name, Royce Reed, may sound familiar to some of you. She appeared on four seasons of Basketball Wives on the VH1 network and is fighting with Howard over custody of the child.
Howard’s defense is similar to the one used by Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who also claimed he didn’t know any better because that was the way he was raised. The allegations indicate that Howard used the buckle end of a belt to discipline his child, leaving bruises. He has since admitted to using corporal punishment on the child (via TMZ.com).
While the NFL continues to be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, this story could end up acquiring more legs with the report that officials in Georgia are still investigating Howard on the child abuse allegations.
Photo: Fox Sports