When Houston Rockets star James Harden arrived at the NBA “bubble” just under two weeks ago, he quickly and unknowingly created a controversy with his choice of a large facial covering.
While “The Beard” was trying to follow the league’s safety protocols and prevent the spread of COVID-19, he didn’t realize that the blue mask he had acquired also carried some political symbolism.
Specifically, his face covering included a thin blue line, which has become known as a symbol representing the Blue Lives Matter organization. Critics have claimed that the pro-police symbol also stands for white supremacy and opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement.
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After the backlash on social media, Harden was asked the next day whether he knew that meaning. He responded:
No. I just felt like it was something that covered my whole face, and the beard. I thought it looked cool, that was it.
After Sunday’s scrimmage victory by the Rockets, Harden did his postgame interviews in a standard and very uncontroversial black mask, without any logo. On the other hand, it certainly wasn’t as form-fitting.
As many users on Twitter figured out, Harden wasn’t exaggerating when he described the challenges of finding a mask that covered his whole face, and the large beard. Here’s a sampling of the amused responses:
that is a beard bonnet. https://t.co/8MUMJjMy39
— Brandon Caldwell (@_brandoc) July 27, 2020
Yo, @filiperaic, can you brainstorm an art solution for James’s mask problem? I feel like you’re his only hope. https://t.co/9hqyoaePtq
— Benjamin Hoffman (@BenHoffmanNYT) July 27, 2020
we should’ve thought of masks a long time ago for sneaking snacks into movie theaters https://t.co/3UCh2Pa2LZ
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) July 27, 2020
Please…. y’all let him wear the blue lives matter mask 😭 https://t.co/rxZCNTTwrS
— We me and Milano (@eleven8) July 27, 2020
Harden led the Rockets in the victory with 31 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in 35 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies. Based on the result, he probably doesn’t care about the light-hearted fashion jabs.
He might not mind hearing a few apologies, though. As he explained, mask fashion can be problematic for those with large beards.
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Harden explained that many masks are problematic for him due to his beard.
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 17, 2020
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