Chris Broussard calls James Harden retarded, immediately makes it worse with his apology

Chris Broussard was not a fan of James Harden’s decision to force a trade to the Clippers, and he let that be known on the national television program First Things First. With all of the talent already on the team, Broussard had some questions, like all journalists do. However, the first question was, “Is the man retarded????” Which… well, yeah. Not great.

Chris Broussard questioned James Harden’s mental development, apologized, and made it worse all in the span of under a minute:

ON JAMES HARDEN BEING TRADED TO THE CLIPPERS THIS MAN JUST SAID “I AM SORRY FOR SAYING RETARDED MY FIRST COUSIN IS RETARDED” @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/j3sSFMkPmC

— Stuart Feiner (@StuartFeiner) October 31, 2023

Jesus Christ, buddy. I’ve written some wacky headlines during my time at The Liberty Line, but this one has to take the cake. No embellishment was required.

The immediate apology could have saved it, but the fact that he went with the “my first cousin” defense and almost said, “We just put him down” made the whole situation unsalvagable. I mean, just look at the reaction from Kevin Wildes.

I will say, as someone who has spent extensive time with special needs adults, the use of the word retarded is a topic I’ve been asked about a lot by friends and family. Honestly, in my eyes, there’s a case to be made that the word’s definition no longer applies to developmentally delayed individuals.

My man Wayne who I’d see a few times a month in college had an intellectual disability, but he was by no means “retarded,” if that makes sense. He loved pizza and would introduce himself to new people as Tom Cruise. That’s fucking awesome. I owe that guy a visit.

Obviously, folks shouldn’t be going around calling people retarded, especially if they are developmentally delayed. That’s a given. I don’t really know what my point is here, but I think you get what I mean. It’s more of an observation than anything.

I’m not saying it’s right to say that about James Harden, I’m just saying it’s definitely not the first time someone has called him retarded. Just look at some of his decisions in the playoffs last year, that definitely had some Delco Dads tossing that into their lexicon, if only for a few weeks.

Despite the things I’ve said that you’ll probably misconstrue, I know you definitely can’t call an athlete retarded on TV. That’s just a big no-no. Broussard will probably catch a suspension or something like that, but I don’t think any less of him as a person or analyst for the admittedly embarrassing slip-up.

Gear up in the TLL Shop