Dwight Howard Says 'Free Palestine' Post Led to NBA Commissioner Call

Dwight Howard opened up about the time he posted "Free Palestine" on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, resulting in a number of phone calls from people, including the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver.

"When you're in the NBA, it's a lot of things that you wanna say, that you could say, but you know if you say it, there's going to be repercussions," Howard told Ray Daniels on Monday's episode of The GAUDs Show at the 20:24 mark. "You could get in a lot of trouble."

He continued: “Less than 10 minutes after I tweet that, I get a call from the commissioner of the NBA. Agents, people working with my foundation at the time, Texas. ‘You’ve got to erase this tweet. You’ve got to take this down.’ I’m like, ‘What did I do that was so bad?’”

According to a Vox article from the time, Howard published a tweet in 2014 that simply featured the hashtag #FreePalestine. That same day, the post was deleted, followed by an apology for the tweet, which he called a mistake. "I have never commented on international politics and never will," he wrote.

Howard explained his side of the story, claiming Silver, the NBA player's agents, and people associated with his foundation, reached out to him less than 10 minutes after the #FreePalestine post went up. The eight-time NBA All-Star said he was told to take down the tweet, but did not specify if the NBA commissioner was one of those who gave him that directive. He also said that he "dang near got kicked out [of] the" NBA over the situation.

"I'm like, 'What did I do that was so bad?,'" Howard wondered. "Can somebody explain? It was just like, because I went against the grain. I said something that people didn't like... When you're in the league, you be in that place where if I say too much, if I say something, I may not get a job no more."

After Howard made the comments, the New York Daily News reported that NBA spokesperson Mike Bass called Howard’s claim “categorically false" when he was reached for comment via email.

Howard explained the tweet came about after a movie outing with his fans in Houston where he ended up interacting with a few Palestinians who asked him to raise awareness for the plight of their people. The same year in which Howard sent out the #FreePalestine tweet, there was conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“They asked me to just bring some awareness to what’s going on in their country,” Howard said of the meeting. “Me having a big heart, I’m like, ‘You know what? I want people to know the struggles y’all having.’”

Howard spent 18 seasons in the NBA from 2004-2022, spanning teams including the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers.