James Harden: Fan who shined laser pointer at him 'disrespectful'
James Harden indicated he doesn’t really care that the fan who recently shined a laser pointer at him as he shot free throws has been banned from attending NBA games for one year. In fact, he believes the offending party deserves it.
“That’s just disrespectful, not just to a basketball player, anybody,” Harden said after the Houston Rockets’ practice Wednesday, via ESPN. “Whoever that guys was he wouldn’t want to be lasered in the face, so that was disrespectful. It’s not my call [on the fan being banned], I’m just trying not to get blind.”
The incident occurred during the Rockets’ 93-91 victory over the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. As Harden shot free throws during the third quarter, he noticed a fan in the stands shining what appeared to be a laser pointer at him.
Harden pointed out the culprit to officials while acting like he was going to throw the ball at the offender. The fan in question was later escorted out of the arena and subsequently received his one-year ban.
Harden believes there’s no room for those kind of antics.
“It’s a NBA game, you got fans trying to watch some good basketball games, really talented, blessed basketball players out there on the court and you’re trying to laser them, that’s just crazy,” he said.
Harden scored a game-high 30 points in the victory, meaning for all practical purposes, he had the last laugh while the fan is left to lament his disruptive and rude conduct.
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