Why are American sports stars silent on Palestine?
‘I tweeted Free Palestine. Less than 10 minutes later, I got a call from the NBA commissioner,’ Former NBA star Dwight Howard.
Former NBA star Dwight Howard said a few years ago he was forced to delete a social media post in support of Palestine.
“… when you’re in the NBA, there are a lot of things you want to say, that you could say, but you know if you say them, there will be repercussions and you get into a lot of trouble,” Howard said in an interview with Ray Daniels on the GAUDS show on YouTube.
“For example, a couple of years ago when I played for the Houston Rockets, I tweeted ‘Free Palestine,’ and I almost got kicked out of the league for it. I was just trying to figure out why.”
Before the tweet, he said, he interacted with some Palestinian fans, who asked him to spread awareness about their homeland.
“Me having a big heart, I’m like, ‘you know what, I want people to know the struggles you all are having’ … So I tweet ‘Free Palestine’. Less than 10 minutes later, I got a call from the NBA commissioner, agents, people in my foundation, and even folks from Texas: ‘you gotta erase this tweet!, you gotta take this down!’ I was like, ‘What did I do that was so bad? Can somebody explain’?”
Howard played for several franchises and won the NBA Championship with the LA Lakers in 2020.