Report: Dwight Howard will not be fined for using illegal substance
Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard will not be punished for his admitted use of the illegal substance Stickum, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical.
The NBA sent out a league-wide memo on Monday, informing all 30 teams that the Rockets would not be fined but had received an official warning for allowing the use of the sticky substance on players’ hands.
Howard was caught using the spray on his hands on the sidelines during the Rockets’ 109–97 loss to the Hawks on Saturday. Atlanta forward Paul Millsap had complained about the ball being sticky after he received it from Howard.
The NBA prohibits using adhesive substances on a player’s hands during a game.
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After the game, he admitted to using Stickum during every game over the past five years and questioned “why people are making a big deal out of it.”
“I just think that it‘s getting overblown, like I’m doing something crazy,” Howard said, according to ESPN. “But again, I’ve never been a cheater, never been the type of player that has to do something illegal to win. It’s upsetting, but I can’t control it now.
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“I never hid the spray. I never did anything to try to hide what I was doing. It was just something to make my hands dry.”
The Rockets next play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
- Erin Flynn
