James Harden Says He Was Not Maskless At A Strip Club, But At A Private Party For A Discreet Luxury Concierge Agency

3:06 PM EST on December 23, 2020

Rockets guard James Harden attempted to set the record straight today, in regards to a recently published video which shows him attending some sort of indoor function while not wearing a mask. As Harden tells it, this is all just a big misunderstanding engineered by those who do not appreciate the meaning of friendship.

The video, published by Black Sports Online, is a little confusing. It begins with Harden marveling at what appears to be an expensive piece of luggage while at a party. It then shows a large venue full of people dancing, followed by some scenes of strippers and a floor covered in money, which may or may not have been recorded at the same party Harden attended. (There do appear to be two separate venues depicted in the video.) For what it's worth, Harden is only visible in the first clip:

Anyway, Harden responded to this latest example of him disregarding the NBA's COVID-19 protocols on Instagram:

As the Houston Chronicle points out, it appears that the party Harden attended was thrown by a company called Selective Group; the company's branding is visible in one of the video clips and it had been promoting its Winter Ball on Instagram, which was scheduled to take place this past Monday night.

What is Selective Group, you ask? Let us mosey over to their LinkedIn page and play that classic game we all know and love: Is This A Confusing Description Of An Escort Service Or A Consulting Service?

Selective Group is an exclusive concierge and lifestyle management services, dedicated to providing personalised and unique luxury experiences to you in every aspect of life. Our purpose is to make the impossible possible for you. And while doing so, we provide the highest level of personalised service, professionalism and discretion - around the globe - around the clock. What we do Selective Group is a luxury concierge agency based in the Middle East. Our focus is on providing you a unique personalized experience in every aspect of life - understanding your precise needs and ambitions and bring true exclusivity and height of luxury in everything you experience with us. Our elite solutions in travel, lifestyle and other services are shaped by reliability, promptness, an eye for lavishness, sophisticated technology and the drive to make the impossible possible.

Ah. Right. A luxury concierge agency based in the Saudi city of Jeddah. That must be an interesting place to work!

Whether or not you believe Harden acted irresponsibly, I think we can all agree that 2020 has made it so difficult to do the things we all miss doing so much, like attending a party in order to show love to your friend, who is becoming a boss and putting her people in positions of success via their work providing unique luxury experiences to clients around the globe.

It would be nice if we could just get back to normal.

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