Fact Check: Did James Harden say he dislikes mentally unstable people?

Houston Rockets star James Harden is quicky becoming the hot topic on social media after a Twitter user shared THE James Harden tweet which was shrouded with controversy back in 2010. These days, James Harden has become quite an inspirational figure on social media, posting about his charity organisation and sharing motivational messages - in short staying away from controversy. Back in 2010, however, Harden became an overnight meme (even before memes were popular) when he was said to have tweeted "I dislike retarded people."

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Fact Check: Did James Harden ever say he "disliked disabled people"?

Well, not exactly. The tweet from the then-21-year-old is still up on his Twitter handle, which says he dislikes "retarded people". Despite the backlash, he received from his fans, Harden has so far not deleted his tweet. The James Harden tweet was in response to a Twitter scuffle with user Jes (@jussjes), who even called Harden "retarded" and "ignorant". However, it remains unclear what triggered the social media standoff between the two. Here's the Twitter thread for reference:

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Social media reacts to the "James Harden I dislike retarded people" tweet

Naturally, since the tweet has been up for almost ten years now, fans have repeatedly stumbled upon it while browsing on the social media platform. Once upon a while, some users highlight some of the quirky tweets from the popular NBA stars and Harden's tweet more often than not makes the cut. 

Apparently some fans enjoyed the 2010 version of James Harden:

 While others slammed the Rockets star:

Fact Check: Conclusion

Since the tweet hasn't been taken down, the fact check concludes that Harden did post the controversial message back in 2010. He has also been quite extensively ridiculed for the same. Here's a look at how James Harden uses Twitter in 2020:

Meanwhile, with the NBA return date closing in, teams have already started flying to Orlando to report at Walt Disney World resort. On Thursday, the Rockets left Houston for the Disney World. However, as per reports, Rockets' star duo James Harden and Russell Westbrook, were both absent on the flight. The Athletic reports Harden and Westbrook will join the team in the coming weeks ahead of the season's restart later this month.

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(Image Credits: AP, James Harden Twitter Handle)