No, we didn’t call her a straight-out whore, just one for attention. But the story isn’t that the mother of an athlete’s illegitimate child is seeking media attention. No, it’s how she’s doing: By explicitly claiming that she isn’t.

The latest example of Royce Reed — that’s the Baby Momma in question –  and her sideline celebrity complex came Thursday night, while the father of her child was on the court in Cleveland. During Orlando’s Game 5 loss, Reed responded almost real time to a tweet sent out by Robert Littal, the blogger and tweeter who has a tendency to go for the jugular of athletes and their social lives. Essentially, here’s what went down: Littal tweeted that Howard knocked up the first girl who would jump in bed with him, and she happened to be a cheerleader, then Reed responded to Littal saying that she and Howard had a legitimate relationship.

Fair enough. Maybe they did. But they don’t anymore, and now, with Reed’s son receiving monthly support checks, Reed’s focus has shifted to maintaining her own good public image, no matter how hard that might be.

That’s where the problem lies. As the bard (that Shakespeare guy) would say, “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

The issue is how Reed has been putting herself in the spotlight with Howard’s son. A little more than a month ago, she was the main feature on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines, First Report.” At the time, she reported being behind in the funds that Howard owed her. She no longer is. Additionally, somehow, she now owns her own dance studio.

Why did all this happen? Clearly because she was featured on ESPN and was seen during a Magic game later in the postseason. She clearly likes to be seen with Howard’s son, and she goes out of her way to defend herself against the idea that she’s a gold digger.

That’s what brings us to the crux of our question: How is Reed’s recent response — both in opening herself up to ESPN and by immediately attacking Littal — any different than a “he who smelt it, delt it” scenario? Doesn’t it seem a bit too revealing that she’s so open about her wherewithal, and what she’s doing for a living (and where, pray tell, did she get the money for her studio)? Isn’t she trying a little too hard?

Think about it: How would she even have found Littal’s tweet that quickly, without scanning for Dwight Howard hash marks on Twitter, or just seaching for Dwight Howard baby momma, or something of the like. It doesn’t make any sense.

Look, we’re not saying that Royce Reed is a bad person. She seems perfectly nice and is clearly honest to a fault. We just think that she’s milking Howard for all she can, and to try and portray herself as anything but a beneficiary of a pregnancy from an NBA star is a bit disingenuous. At the very least, she’s getting priceless exposure in the media from all the attention Howard’s son brings to her. At the most, she may be getting a yellow brick road to the precise professional career she really wanted.