Harden fined $50,000 for partying maskless
The NBA fined Houston Rockets star James Harden $50,000 on Wednesday after ruling that he violated the league's COVID-19 protocols.
The news came after video emerged of Harden partying maskless at an event. The video, published by Black Sports Online, allegedly originated at a Christmas party this week at a strip club in Houston. The league stated that Harden was sanctioned for attending a private, indoor party on Monday. Harden posted a statement on Instagram on Wednesday denying that he was at a strip club.
“One thing after another,” he 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.
“Everyday it's something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under you can't. The real always end on top.”
Harden's availability for the Rockets' scheduled Wednesday night season-opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder was in question, but the game wound up being postponed when Houston couldn't field the minimum eight players due to positive or inconclusive coronavirus tests as well as contact tracing.
The NBA'S COVID-19 protocol prohibits players from going to bars, lounges or nightclubs and from participating in social gatherings of more than 15 people.
An eight-time all-star and the league's three-time defending scoring champion, Harden has been a constant fixture in the news cycle for weeks over his stated desire to be traded to a contender.
The 31-year-old guard reported a week late to training camp and played in only two of Houston's four pre-season games.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that Harden had been involved in several verbal confrontations with teammates in practice, even throwing a basketball at one player.
In 11 NBA seasons, Harden has averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 833 career games. He spent his first three seasons with the Thunder, after becoming the No. 3 overall selection in the 2009 draft.
Harden averaged 34.3 points with 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists over 68 games last season.
BLACKHAWKS' NYLANDER OUT FOUR TO SIX MONTHS
Forward Alex Nylander is expected to miss four to six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn left meniscus, the Chicago Blackhawks announced Wednesday.
He sustained the injury during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and tried to recover without going the surgical route.
“He initially rested and trained conservatively. Unfortunately, his symptoms came back when he started to skate,” team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement.
He had the surgery on Monday. Nylander, 22, was expected to skate on a line with Kirby Dach and Patrick Kane.
The Buffalo Sabres selected the Canadian with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft and traded him to Chicago for Henri Jokiharju on July 9, 2019.
In his first season with the Blackhawks, Nylander played in 65 games and recorded 10 goals and 16 assists.
DRESDEN FANS BUY 72,000 ` GHOST' TICKETS
German third-tier side Dynamo Dresden said they sold more than 72,000 `ghost' tickets for the cup match at home to Darmstadt on Tuesday, even though the match was played in an empty stadium.
With fans barred from attending due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dresden decided to put tickets on sale at five euros ($7.85) each and appealed to fans to buy them out of solidarity.
Even the former East German champions were surprised when 72,112 `ghosts' bought tickets, nearly three times their average attendance last season and more than twice their stadium's capacity.
Dresden said on its website that it would have been the third-biggest crowd ever to watch one of their games.
Lower-tier sides in Germany have been especially hard hit by having to play matches without fans — known in Germany as `ghosts matches' — during the COVID-19 pandemic as they depend more heavily on gate receipts than Bundesliga teams.
“Every Dynamo can be proud of this. That is certainly unique in Germany,” said Dresden striker Philipp Hosiner.
It didn't all go to plan for Dresden, however, as their second division opponents cantered to a 3-0 win while a planned choreography involving 30,000 biodegradable balloons had to be cancelled due to high winds.
RUSSIAN BADMINTON PLAYER SUSPENDED
Russian doubles badminton player Nikita Khakimov has received a five-year ban after being found guilty of offences relating to “betting, wagering and irregular match results,” the Badminton World Federation said on Wednesday.
The BWF opened an investigation against Khakimov after obtaining a statement from a whistleblower, who claimed the shuttler had approached him to manipulate match results at the European Teams Championships held in Feb. 2018.
An independent panel found Khakimov to be in breach of BWF'S integrity regulations, including approaching a player and offering money to manipulate a match, betting on badminton games, and “deliberately destroying evidence of a corruption offence to conceal from the BWF.”
Khakimov, 32, was part of the Russian men's team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 European Team Championships.