Josh Howard isn't making life easy on anyone in Mavsland. The latest flap involving the once-rising star comes courtesy of YouTube. In the video, taken at Allen Iverson's charity flag football game in July, Howard says as the national anthem is playing: "The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don't celebrate this (expletive). I'm black."
He also goes on to make remarks about Barack Obama. The incident caused quite a stir in Dallas, as newspaper columnists and talk show hosts lined up to bash Howard and question his patriotism. Mavs owner Mark Cuban, however, has continued to publicly back Howard and added that the entire team will go through "advanced communication skills sessions" in training camp. The last several months have people wondering what's happened with Howard.
During the first-round playoff loss to New Orleans, Howard admitted on a Dallas radio talk show that he smokes marijuana in the offseason. He threw himself a birthday party after the Game 4 loss to the Hornets, drawing the ire of former coach Avery Johnson.
Howard was arrested and charged with speeding, careless and reckless driving, and speed competition in North Carolina in July. He was released from jail on a written promise to appear in court Sept. 23.
The Mavs have fielded numerous trade offers for Howard, but the front office has continued to say the starting small forward isn't on the block. Still, expect those trade rumors to heat up once camp starts.
