For whatever reason, Dwight Howard decided to get opinionated about international politics with a tweet. He then retracted his tweet to avoid backlash...only to receive further backlash for doing so. Howard never quite gets his way.
On Saturday afternoon, Howard decided to tweet #FreePalestine (see the tweet in the thumbnails) for support in the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict. This was a bold move given the intensity and complexity of the conflict. In fact, it was too bold; he deleted the tweet minutes after and said his apologies.
previous tweet was a mistake. I have never commented on international politics and never will.
I apologize if I offended anyone with my previous tweet, it was a mistake!
Claiming a mistake doesn't cut it for some tweeters. Some criticized him for not having the courage to stick with his tweet, others lambasted him because they support the Israelites, and a few slandered him simply because he's Dwight Howard and needed something else to call him out on.
@DwightHoward Went with your heart. It's brutal to see innocent people killed.
Boy, stop tweeting and stop fukn wit minors @DwightHoward
“@DwightHoward: I apologize if I offended anyone with my previous tweet, it was a mistake!” Offended? HAHAH lol wow. "Mistake"
@DwightHoward Yeah it's pretty offensive to think people should be free, I agree.
A possible reason Howard deleted the tweet was because of his teammate, Omri Casspi, who's the first Israeli to play in an NBA game. He's also very public about who he supports.
John F. Kennedy: Israel was not created in order to disappear- Israel will endure and flourish. Child of hope and the home of the brave.
600 missiles been fired from GAZA by Hamas in the last 4 days. NUMBERS DONT LIE. STOP LYING.
The tweet comes in a weekend where the death toll rises to above 120 after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza reportedly killed 15 Palestinians. This is part of an Israeli counteroffensive that began on Tuesday.
