NBA referee Jenna Schroeder admitted she made a mistake Monday night after ejecting Sixers big man Andre Drummond — before overturning the decision.
The veterans center was gave his second technical foul of the match after Victor Wembanyama fell to the ground in the second quarter, with Schroeder believing the Spurs star was pushed.
However, replays soon showed that Drummond did not push Wembanyama, and Schroeder apologized to the Sixers bench for her blunder when Drummond was reinserted into the game. Wembanyama also received a technical foul for flopping.
‘I screwed up! [Wembanyama] will have a technical glitch and I’m sorry,” Schroeder could be heard telling Sixers coach Nick Nurse in an interview video to the court.
Referees quickly reversed the technical call at Wembanyama as well.
Crew chief Curtis Blair told A pool reporter after the match, the officials ‘determined that Drummond had stepped on Wembanyama’s foot and this was ruled incidental contact.’
Referee Jenna Schroeder apologized for mistakenly sending off André Drummond on Monday
Andre Drummond was reinstated into the game after initially being thrown out
It was an eventful night for Schroeder, as she was also yelled at by the Sixers’ Joel Embiid after he was ejected in the first half.
The seven-time All-Star was given an initial technical for arguing with Schroeder over a foul at Wembanyama, and received another technical (and ejection) from her before any more playing time had elapsed.
Embiid appeared to be about to face Schröder, but it was not clear from the replays whether he had contacted the referee. From certain angles it looked like his chin was making contact with her hands and she was signaling her decision.
An irate Embiid then charged at the officials after the ejection and was restrained in astonishing scenes by teammate Kyle Lowry, Nurse and several assistants.
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 see he disputes it, she tries to discuss it calmly and he leaves.’
The Sixers still managed to win the game, 111-106.
An angry Joel Embiid charged at the officials after the ejection and was restrained
A league source told DailyMail.com that the league wants to “get tough” on Embiid, with the source also suggesting that the Sixers could ask him to take anger management courses or quit the team.
A team spokesperson later dismissed the source’s claims via email.
Embiid has had a difficult season as he struggled with injuries and suspensions, only appearing in eight games.
Schroeder, meanwhile, has been an NBA referee for four seasons and has appeared in more than 100 games, according to the NBA’s refereeing website.