Filed under: News
Dwight Howard of the NBA's Orlando Magic and his child's mother have not sat down and decided to work together to raise their son. As evidence, I present the foolishness that occurred when Howard picked up his son from daycare recently.
According to TMZ, Royce Reed called the cops because it was not Howard's day to pick the boy up.
Reed showed up when she found out that Howard was trying to pick up the boy. She called police because the custody agreement did not give Howard the right to pick the child up that day, she said. Police intervened at Reed's request and called Howard who had already left with the child.
Howard thought that he and his ex had made a new custody agreement but it turns out the agreement was discussed but not signed. Howard sent his nanny back to the daycare center with the boy and Reed took the child home.
Reed later issued a statement saying that her son "was seriously traumatized by the unlawful actions of Dwight and his staff, and Royce will rely upon the Courts to prevent future incidents from occurring."
Sounds a little over the top to me-- just like the fighting going on between these two adults.This is sad on so many levels. It's sad that Reed and Howard can't stop bickering for the good of their child.
This isn't the first beef that the two of them have had. Howard sued to stop Reed from participating in a show called Basketball Wives, which is ironic because she is not, and likely never will be, married to the guy. Fathering a child does not make you a husband or a real father.
Howard also sued Reed for allegedly bashing him on the Internet.
It's also sad to see a young black man take an interest in raising his child only to end up in court over the issue. How many times do we say that black fathers need to be more responsible? It's pitiful that they are in court fighting over custody and couldn't come to a joint parenting agreement.
Maybe Dwight should take the lead in this case. Being that he is a millionaire many times over, maybe he and Reed should come to some sort of financial settlement that also settles the custody matter with some sort of joint custody.
It's clear that Reed deserves financial support from Howard if she wins custody of the child. Howard may feel that Reed is using their child as a way to extract money from him but that's not important now. What matters is the health and mental well-being of that child.
If Howard and Reed think that Braylon won't remember much because he's only 2 years old, both are wrong. Drawn-out custody battles like this could take several years and result in decades of resentment that will still exist when Braylon is on his way to high school or college.
It's best to nip this foolishness in the bud.