The road ahead doesn't look smooth for Josh Howard, but he's at least off on the right foot. The much-maligned small forward stepped to the podium on media day to apologize for his derogatory remarks (posted on YouTube) aimed at the National Anthem.
"I'd like to say that I'm truly and really am sorry for everything that's happened in the last five months," Howard said in a statement. "This is not the way I carry myself, not how I want to be portrayed. I'm sorry to everybody I've offended. I'm upset with myself and the way I've acted." Howard proceeded to take questions. He said he meant no harm by the comments, which were taped at a charity event during the summer.
"It was me joking around," Howard said. "Guys were out there making fun and I decided to get along in it. I wasn't using my head. I guess the valuable lesson I did learn is that words really do hurt. You're held accountable for what you say.
"That's not me."
Howard added that he went to military school and has a number of friends who have served in the armed forces. He promised to make amends this season.
Howard's summer also featured an arrest for street racing in North Carolina. During the playoffs last season, he admitted to smoking marijuana in the offseason and threw a birthday party for himself after a home loss.
"It was a rough summer for him, but I believe in his heart he's a good guy," Dirk Nowitzki said. "He just made some bad decisions."
