Former NBA star Dwight Howard says he was forced to delete 'Free Palestine' post

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 Tuesday in a video 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 post, he said, he interacted with some Palestinian fans, who asked him to spread awareness about their homeland, parts of which are under decades-long Israeli occupation.

"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'?"

An 8-time NBA All-Star, Howard played for several franchises and won the NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

Meanwhile, since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas border incursion, Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which is under blockade since 2007, has resulted in nearly 46,000 deaths, most of them women and children.

The enclave has been reduced to a rubble, while the people face food shortages and almost all of them are displaced.