NBA punishes Joel Embiid for making obscene gesture at Celtics fans days after he screamed at female referee
The NBA has fined Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid $75,000 for making obscene gestures toward the Boston Celtics crowd during their Christmas Day game.
NBA Executive Vice President and Chief Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced the discipline Friday evening.
It is alleged that Embiid performed a “f*** you” gesture to the crowd with both arms.
The incident occurred just days after Embiid angrily confronted female referee Jenna Schroeder when he was ejected for two technical fouls against the San Antonio Spurs.
Embiid appeared to be about to face Schröder, but it was not clear from the replays whether he had contacted the referee. Certain angles seemed to show his chin making contact with her hands and she indicated her decision.
An irate Embiid then charged at the officials after the ejection and was restrained in astonishing scenes by teammate Kyle Lowry, coach Nick Nurse and several assistants.
Joel Embiid fined $75,000 for making obscene gestures towards Boston Celtics fans
It comes just days after Embiid angrily confronted female referee Jenna Schroeder
NBA announcer Stephanie Ready denounced Embiid’s behavior while talking about the televised replay, saying, “It’s a foul (at Wembanyama) in any way. You can tell he disputes it, she tries to discuss it calmly and he leaves.
‘Technical error, and now look. He approaches her and steps towards her as if he wants to have a physical confrontation, which I have a problem with. He must be stopped. He’s out of the game now.
“I have a lot to say, as a woman… what the hell was he thinking?”
Analyst Alaa Abdelnaby questioned where Embiid had made contact with Schroeder, but said the Philadelphia star had no excuse for seeing red.
“Joel has to be better than that. Right? Because that’s just too easy for the referees,” Abdelnaby said during a replay. “He’s crowding her out.”
As the first scenes unfolded live, Abdelnaby was shocked by what he saw.
“This is unbelievable,” he said, as Embiid exploded. ‘This is unbelievable. This is Mickey Mouse. This isn’t real. This is a joke… This is a joke.”
Skip Bayless also went to That was certainly not because Wemby already had seven blocks…’
It was a frustrating campaign for Embiid, who played in just nine of Philadelphia’s 28 games.
He has missed time with injuries to his knee and face, and he was suspended for three games early in the season after pushing a reporter in the locker room after a game.
However, the 76ers defeated the Celtics 118-114 on Wednesday and improved to 8-3 in their past 11 games.