James Harden criticised for wearing 'Blue Lives Matter' mask at NBA bubble

Amid COVID-19 rumours, Houston Rockets guard James Harden arrived at the NBA bubble a few days after his team. While Harden has now started training with the team, the team recently shared a photo of Harden wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask. Harden wore the mask when he arrived at the NBA bubble, but the design was not clear in the video shared. 

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James Harden mask: Harden wears Blue Lives Matter mask

Mask Up

📸 @NBA pic.twitter.com/PFsIuJybYb

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets)

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Why was the James Harden mask called out?

After NBA and the Rockets shared a picture of Harden wearing the mask, Twitter users called him out for wearing the controversial symbol. The mask shows a piece of a skull on top with a black-and-white American flag pattern with a single stripe passing through it. As the 'thin blue line' flag is a controversial symbol which supports police officers, Twitter referred to the mask as 'trash'.

The mask is associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement, which is a dismissive movement against the Black Lives Matter movement. People wear the mask to support men and women in blue, including fallen officers. However, supporters of BLM term it as racist and compare it to the Confederate Flag. Harden's mask is similar to the 'Thin Blue Patriot' available on the Hoorag online store. While many fans were convinced that Harden must not be aware of its meaning, many thought that Harden should be careful and informed after openly stating his support for the BLM movement. 

The Masked Beard!#WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/DJrp23M5TL

— NBA (@NBA)

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James Harden mask: Twitter reacts to the Blue Lives Matter mask

blue line mask lmaoooo trash, hope he has fun watching the finals

— fuck cops (@roccohatescops)

It appears that @JHarden13, the @HoustonRockets, and the @NBA are unified in their support of fascist, white supremacist iconography.

They deserve the dragging they're receiving. Ignorance doesn't excuse this shit.

— Ioneenknoyo (@DubJ)

Yeah I didn’t think I could hate Harden more but then he rocks a Blue Lives Matter skull mask 😠

— Adam (@Philthy_Luca)

Yeah I didn’t think I could hate Harden more but then he rocks a Blue Lives Matter skull mask 😠

— Adam (@Philthy_Luca) July 17, 2020

Lol he prolly didn't even know the blue line was on the mask lol. Damn smh

— Craig R. Egerton (@Craige1988)

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Harden was averaging a league-leading 34.4 points, 6.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game before the league was suspended on March 11. The Rockets were ranked sixth in the Western Conference with a 40-24 win-loss record. The team will resume their NBA season by playing against the Dallas Mavericks on July 31.

(Image source: Houston Rockets official Twitter – @HoustonRockets)