Dwight Howard Talks To Esquire About Fatherhood And How “Women” Make It So Hard For Ballers To Spend Time With Their Kids

Oh so Royce gets gagged but this dude can just talk his yang freely?? Esquire talked to Dwight Howard about being a father and here’s what he had to say:

SR: I know it’s a subject you haven’t wanted to talk about publicly, but is fatherhood a part of your life?

DH: It’s very important. Hopefully me and my son’s mom will come to a better agreement for my son. When I do see him, we have the best time in the world. He acts just like me. He tries to run like me. He looks back and smiles like me. Fatherhood is great and it will get better. He’s young. He’s gonna need his father in his life. People say you don’t need a father to be successful. I take offense to that. I had an argument with my mom about Father’s Day and why it’s not celebrated like Mother’s Day.

SR: I’ve been around the NBA enough as a writer to see the women who would give anything just to get impregnated. And I’ve seen the men who didn’t care how many kids they had in how many different places, just as long as they had someone to f**k on the road. Pardon my French.
DH: I understand. With some of my teammates, they try so hard to be around their kid, and then the mother of their child makes it so hard. A lot of guys just say, “I’m not gonna deal with it.”

SR: It’s always the kids who pay the price.
DH: I would never, ever desert my child. A lot of my friends didn’t have fathers growing up, and they were very upset that their fathers weren’t around. I was lucky to have mine around.

Wonder what his dad thinks about all the drama with Royce.

They also talked to him about his smile and his big shoulders…

SR: You’ve got a smile that other human beings respond to. It’s a beautiful smile, even during games.
DH: When I’m smiling and having fun, that’s when you should have a problem. If I’m out there frowning and looking mean, that’s when you know you’ve beat me — because I’m not having fun. I’ve been playing basketball since I was three. Everybody since I was three tried to tell me to stop smiling. Even my dad. My dad apologized to me when I was ten. He said, “Dwight, I remember I told you to stop smiling. I like when you smile. Keep doing it. I’m sorry for ever telling you not to smile.” I said, “Dad, look, I’m young. This is what brings me joy. This is my sanctuary. This is my church. This is where I show God that I’m thankful for life.” I’m going to show it when I play basketball, when I’m on the streets, when I’m having fun. When I’m anywhere, I’m going to show God that I’m thankful just for life. I’m living out my dream. This is what I want to do.

SR: Do you think the players’ union can hold it together?

DH: We’ve got to. We’ve got to stick together. I know, as much as I try to do for the game of basketball and be an ambassador for the NBA, I don’t want my money cut short. I work hard. Not just in games, but off the court, too. When the NBA asks me to do something, I’m there.

SR: You’re representing.

DH: That’s my job, to motivate people. I can do more, show people more things. That’s really why I play basketball. That’s my whole purpose of playing basketball. I was supposed to be in the NBA. I was supposed to travel the world and make the world a better place.

SR: That’s no small thing for a man to carry.
DH: It’s not. But that’s why God gave me big shoulders.

Do you believe this guy? Is Royce really stopping him from being a father or is he getting in his own way?