The ongoing James Harden trade saga appeared to go to another level this week. Harden, in a bit of footage that began circulating around the internet on Tuesday, was spotted maskless in a club, an instance that is becoming disturbingly common with the former league MVP who has made clear that he wants out of Houston.
Under normal circumstances, Harden going to events wouldn’t be a particularly big deal, but amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s brought him under a ton of fire. Even though he has already had COVID and has an immune system that is presumably able to mount a response against the virus, going to events is in violations of the NBA’s myriad of guidelines that look to put on a season amid the pandemic.
After news broke that the league and the Rockets are both looking into the event, Harden took to his Instagram in an attempt to clarify what happened. He made clear that he did not go to an event at a strip club, something that had been previously reported, and that he was showing “love to my homegirl at her event … because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position of success and now it’s a problem.”
James Harden responds: pic.twitter.com/qXodJByqLG
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) December 23, 2020
While it is certainly admirable to uplift the work a friend is doing, Tim MacMahon of ESPN and Sam Amick of The Athletic pointed out that this statement is essentially Harden admitting that he broke the COVID protocols laid out by the league.
James Harden clarified that the event in question was not at a strip club. By doing so, he admits violating the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, which prohibit players from going to bars, lounges or clubs or social events with more than 15 people. pic.twitter.com/K7GnJTxGBo
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 23, 2020
Don't get it twisted, though: The James Harden situation is still a major problem for the Rockets and the NBA. He may have just admitted on social media to breaking COVID protocol (again) and apparently has no plans of changing the way he moves in order to help salvage a season.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) December 23, 2020
MacMahon also noted that Harden ended up deleting the post from his Instagram.
James Harden has deleted this from his Instagram stories.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 23, 2020
Regardless of whether or not this is genuine or if Harden is just doing what he wants because he wants out of town, this is a gigantic headache for the Rockets and the league, the latter of which has to choose whether or not it would be worth making an example of one of its most prominent stars.
