NBA regular season

Rockets vs OKC season opener postponed due to COVID-19 concerns

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Rockets vs OKC season opener postponed due to COVID-19 concerns

CARELESS. The NBA declares James Harden 'unavailable' for the game due to a viral video of him in a strip club.

Photo from Houston Rockets Instagram

The Houston Rockets are dealing with multiple COVID-19 issues, including James Harden's violation of health and safety protocols

The second game day of the NBA was met with multiple COVID-19 concerns from the Houston Rockets’ side, forcing the league to postpone the season-opening game between the Rockets and Thunder on Wednesday, December 23.

The league said 3 Rockets players had returned coronavirus tests that were either positive or inconclusive.

Four other Rockets players had also been quarantined due to contact tracing measures and star James Harden was ruled out after protocol violation. With one injured player as well, the Rockets did not have the required 8 players available for the game.

“The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols,” the NBA said in a statement.

ESPN revealed that Kenyon Martin Jr tested positive for coronavirus and needed to be tested again for confirmation.

In the report, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were also sent home as they joined Martin on Tuesday evening for a haircut at a player’s apartment away from the team facility.

The Rockets had already recorded another positive coronavirus test from backup guard Ben McLemore.

Harden, on the other hand, is under investigation after a video showed him not wearing a mask as he received a luggage for a gift in a “strip club,” according to US media reporters.

Harden’s violation?

The NBA declared James Harden “unavailable due to violation of health and safety protocols,” but his eligibility to play in future games is still under review as he may face league punishment.

Harden – who was a late arrival at training camp and who has been at the center of reports that he has demanded a trade – issued a statement on Instagram, saying he was at an event but denying the video that shows him at a strip club.

“One thing after another,” Harden wrote. “I went to show love to my homegirl at her event (not a strip club) because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position of success and now it’s a problem.”

“Every day it’s something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under you can’t.”

Apparently, however, the league’s investigation found he had violated rules prohibiting players from attending gatherings of more than 15 people.

Harden, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday, argued that he complied with health and safety protocols by passing through a separate entrance and sitting in a different area in the venue with his security.

He also claimed he left after approximately 30 minutes after exchanging gifts and did not continue on with the group, which went to other locations later in the night.

The postponement was the last thing the league was hoping for on the second day of the season when a full slate of 13 games was scheduled. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!