Apr 7, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39) before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
(New York, NY) — Everything comes full circle.
Dwight Howard thrived in the NBA. He was named to eight All-Star games, and won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. He entered the league in 2004, straight out of high school.
19 years later, Howard might be reconsidering his decision of skipping out on college.
The 37-year-old is facing criticism on Chinese social media after he referred to Taiwan as a country in a promotional video posted to Twitter.
“Since I came to Taiwan, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of this country. This place makes me feel so much love,” Howard said in a two-minute online video.
Howard, who has been playing the in the Taiwanese professional basketball league since November, filmed the video for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside Vice President William Lai.
Little does Howard know, Taiwan first split from China in 1949, but China still claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan.
The hashtag “Howard Taiwan independence” has been trending since last night, compiling 400 million impressions on Chinese social media.
“Is he crazy? The promotional video has obvious Taiwan independence characters, how could he agree to do it…” wrote a popular Chinese basketball handle.
Howard apologized for his remarks on Friday, adding he does not want to “get involved in politics.”
“If I offended anyone in China I apologize. It was not my intention to harm anyone with what I said in the commercial.”
He continued, “I am not a politician. I don’t want to get involved in any politics… I have the utmost respect for Chinese people and utmost respect for Taiwanese people, so it was never my intent to disrespect nobody.”
