Moses Malone Jr., the son of late NBA Hall of Famer Moses Malone, believes that Houston Rockets star point guard James Harden was the mastermind behind a June robbery and assault in which at least $15,000 worth of jewelry was stolen.
Now Malone has filed a lawsuit against Harden in which he claims that the NBA All-Star ordered the beatdown after Malone wrote a Facebook post in which he was critical of the star guard, Sports Illustrated reports.
According to the lawsuit, in June 2016 Malone had been critical of Harden’s charging children $250 to attend his basketball camp. ABC 13 notes that the day after Malone’s Facebook post, he was beaten and robbed by four gun-toting men outside the V-Live club. While Harden has not been charged in the attack, Malone’s attorney told the news station that Malone received angry texts from friends of Harden leading up to the attack. Four men have been charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon; one of the men was reportedly a bouncer at the after-hours spot.
In August, Malone filed a lawsuit against the nightclub seeking $1 million.
Harden’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, issued a statement to Isiah Carey of Fox 26, noting, “I am in Boston for depositions so I haven’t seen the petition, but I have previously discussed Moses’ allegations with James and others, and I am totally comfortable that the allegations are untrue. Unfortunately, I am afraid this is just another example of people shopping for a deep pocket when they find that the people actually responsible have no money.”