Dwight Howard has been cleared of child abuse accusations after the mother of his six-year-old son charged a spanking he gave the boy left bruises and abrasions on his leg.
According to TMZ Sports, Royce Reed told Florida Dept. of Children and Families workers the boy suffered the injuries last August at the hands of his NBA superstar father. Several media outlets are now reporting the agency investigated Reed’s claims and have since declared the probe “closed with no substantiated findings of physical injuries.”
Apparently, that still isn’t enough for Reed, who took to Instagram on Sunday to post “this case is not closed. The investigation is still open and he refuses to speak with police. Whoever these reps are that are trying to slander me, just know the gloves are off and I’m not the one to play with when it comes to my son.”
As part of their investigation, agency specialists reportedly spoke with Howard and the Houston Rockets star center admitted that he had spanked his son. Howard is also rumored to have told authorities that he didn’t think anything was wrong with his actions because he had been disciplined in that same way while growing up as a child.
Sources have also told TMZ that none of the marks Reed alleged Howard left on the boy were found to be caused by the spanking in question. The situation is somewhat reminiscent of the one just endured by Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, who was criminally charged with abusing his son after administering a whipping that left marks and bruises on the boy.
Peterson has since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to probation and a fine of $$4,000. Suspended by the NFL at the height of the probe, he is now hoping to be immediately reinstated.
Besides blasting Reed’s claims as “frivolous,” reps for Howard have now filed legal documents seeking full custody of the boy.
[Photo Credit: Keith Allison]