Moses Malone Jr. accuses James Harden of orchestrating aggravated robbery

Moses Malone Jr. at Nike’s All-American Camp in 1997. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

 

Moses Malone Jr., son of the NBA legend, thinks James Harden ordered his beating outside a strip club over a Facebook post critical of the Houston Rockets star’s basketball camp, according to reports.

And, yes, everything in that sentence is what Moses Malone Jr. reportedly believes.

For clarity’s sake, let’s circle back to last month, when Malone Jr. questioned on Facebook the fee for Harden’s youth basketball camp in Houston, calling the four-time NBA All-Star “Hollywood Harden.”

	Kaitlin McCulley @KaitlinMcCulley
Moses Malone Jr. (son of bball legend) told me James Harden's "people" robbed him b/c he posted this @JHarden13 pic.twitter.com/8hZmVPr2ai 2:15 PM - 28 Jun 2016 from Houston, TX

Then, on June 25, a group of 15 men approached him outside the strip club around 2:30 a.m., saying he disrespected Harden in the Facebook post, and subsequently beat him in retaliation, Malone Jr. told police, according to court documents uncovered by KPRC2-TV. Malone Jr.’s lawyer told KTRK-TV the club’s security was “complicit in the attack” that allegedly resulted in an estimated $15,000 worth of jewelry stolen from his client. Malone Jr. reportedly believes Harden orchestrated the incident.

On Wednesday, four men — Darian Blount, Kavon Boutte, Oscar Wattell and Deavion Lewis — were charged in association with the aggravated robbery of Malone Jr. with a deadly weapon, per KPRC2-TV.

However, “Harden has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in the case,” according to ESPN. Likewise, the strip club’s spokesman (the strip club’s spokesman, I just wrote), who denied any complicit behavior by security, vouched for Harden in a statement to Houston’s ABC affiliate.

“I don’t believe Mr. Harden was at the club, and I definitely don’t believe he had anything to do with an attack on Mr. Malone,” the spokesman told KTRK-TV in June. “And so the club’s position is that Mr. Malone is a regular of the club. We would have done everything we could to make sure he was safe.”

It seems so very strip club spokesman-y to be sure to describe one NBA legend’s son as a regular while publicly not corroborating his story and drawing general conclusions about another NBA star’s alleged actions, but that’s all beside the point. The point is Moses Malone Jr. was allegedly robbed at gunpoint, and four men — none of whom are James Harden — have been charged with the crime.