Dwight Howard, one of the former American NBA stars, said, “I was almost kicked out of the league” because of his ‘Freedom for Palestine’ post. He said that he was pressured to delete the post.
Howard said in a program he attended, “There are many things you want to say while playing in the NBA, you can say them, but if you say them, you know there will be consequences. You may get into big trouble. For example, a few years ago, while playing for the Houston Rockets, I tweeted ‘Freedom for Palestine’ And I almost got kicked out of the league for it.” he said.
The 39-year-old basketball player, who also won an NBA championship, said, “I tweeted about freedom for Palestine. Less than 10 minutes after I shared this post, the NBA commissioner, managers, and people working at my foundation at the time called and said, ‘You should delete this tweet. You should remove this.’ I said, ‘What did I do that could be so bad? Can someone explain this to me?’ I said.” he said.
Stating that he had difficulty expressing his opinions while playing in the NBA, Howard said, “When I am in the NBA, if I say too much, if I say anything, you are in a place where I may not find a job again. You think I should hold my tongue. But, when you are faced with so many situations, it becomes very difficult to do so.” .” he said.
Howard, who has 1 NBA championship in his career and was selected as an All-Star 8 times, is considered one of the best defensive players of all time.