Houston Rockets star player James Harden is not having a great week. First, he got his game-tying shot blocked by an ancient Manu Ginobili in overtime. Then his team got blown out in game six at home, with the Spurs sitting star Kawhi Leonard.
His performance in that game was so awful many questioned his effort or wondered if he was injured. He then topped that off by partying at multiple clubs the night after that game. Now, he is being sued by Moses Malone Jr. for his alleged involvement in masterminding a beating.
James Harden's situation
James Harden is not just being sued by anyone, but by Moses Malone Jr.
, the son of Hall of Fame player Moses Malone. He filed an amendment to a civil lawsuit yesterday, seeking damages from the potential MVP. The incident is over the alleged role Harden played in masterminding the beating of Malone Jr.
Malone Jr. was beaten and robbed of his jewelry by four armed men outside of the V Live Houston strip club on June 25, 2016. He was robbed of $15,000 to $50,000 in jewelry. The four men involved in the beating have all been arrested, with one of them being a security guard at the club.
The day before the incident, Malone Jr. posted a harsh criticism of Harden on Facebook. He criticized Harden for the price of his basketball camp, saying it shut out kids from the inner-city.
The evidence against Harden
George Farah, Malone's attorney, says that all stories gathered from witnesses are very consistent with the fact that James Harden was very upset about the Facebook post. He says that he is taking the steps to subpoena ten witnesses who were at the strip club, which both Harden and Moses Malone Jr.
regularly attended. Farah also says that his evidence even includes text messages between Malone Jr. and some of Harden's friends.
For his part, Malone Jr. says that the Facebook post was referenced multiple times during the beating and robbery. According to the criminal complaint filed by him, one of the attackers said that he "disrespected James Harden and that he needs to be punished after that." In his suit, he also alleges that Harden paid each of the robbers $20,000 dollars to take part in the attack.
The original lawsuit was filed back in September before this amendment was added. Malone Jr. was originally seeking $1 million for damages and loss of property against the now-closed strip club. Neither Harden nor his attorney has made any statement regarding the incident.
