"Been rumored forever": Ryan Clark hints at knowledge of Dwight Howard's homosexuality long before sexual assault case

Former NFL safety Ryan Clark braved his way to talk about Dwight Howard and his rumored sexuality, hinting that he's been aware of the rumors before. This came after Masin Elije, an author who identifies as gay, accused the former NBA star of sexual assault.

Howard isn't in the league anymore, but people can't stop talking about him as he is dealing with fans questioning his sexuality and the truth behind Elije's claims.

"A man is accusing Dwight Howard of forcing himself upon him," Clark said on "The Pivot Podcast" recently. "In the sports world, that's been rumored forever. That has been something that people have said about Dwight, and not something that I would utter publicly.

"Now, when you're put in this situation where you have proof and Dwight Howard has to admit to having these relationships with men, how does that make you feel about the times when you heard it and you were like, 'Nah, that ain't it.'?"

There isn't any proof of whether Elije's claims about the sexual assault are true. In the past, the author accused rapper Playboi Carti, similar to the one he filed against Howard. The accusations against the rapper were "allegedly discredited” later on.

You might also be interested in reading this: "If you like d***, you like d***" - 'Thug Life' hitmaker Boosie questions Dwight Howard’s sexual orientation, hints at past legal NDAs

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Dwight Howard denied rumors of his sexual orientation in the past

Many have accused Dwight Howard of not being honest with his sexual orientation. Recently, he posted on Instagram about not worrying too much about the current state of what he's going through. This further solidified the fact that he was denying his sexuality.

In 2019, he faced similar accusations, but when interviewed, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year doubled down on his stance, letting everyone know that he isn't gay.

"It ended up being a situation that was, it went viral," Howard said. "People were talking about it, and it upset me because I didn't even know who the person was. Why would somebody, who I never met, never had any contact with, make up a whole story about me? I saw all the hate, the pure hate, from people that I've never met before, just pile up everywhere I went.

"I'm not gay. It's a lot of people who are and they have to hide, and there's people who have mental issues and they have to hide. There's people who have different problems in life and they have to hide."