Joel Embiid faced widespread condemnation Monday night after the 7-foot Philadelphia 76ers star angrily confronted referee Jenna Schroeder.
Embiid was ejected for his histrionics, where he exploded at Schroeder late in the second quarter for calling him for a first technical foul while contesting being penalized for challenging Victor Wembanyama.
Embiid appeared about to confront Schroeder, but it was unclear from replays whether he made contact with the referee. Certain angles seemed to show her chin making contact with her hands and she was indicating her decision.
Embiid, 30, needed to be restrained by coach Nick Nurse, 76ers teammate Kyle Lowry and multiple assistants in gruesome scenes. Embiid even ripped off the mask he was wearing after suffering a broken sinus in early December.
NBA TV host Stephanie Ready slammed Embiid, saying in the studio Monday, “It's a foul (on Wembanyama), in every way.” You can see that he is arguing, she is trying to calmly discuss it and he leaves.
'Technical foul, and now look. He approaches and takes a step towards her as if he wants to have a physical confrontation, which I have a problem with. You have to contain it. Now he's out of the game.
Joel Embiid yelled at NBA referee Jenna Schroeder when he was ejected from a 76ers game
Schroeder is seen raising his hands and trying to walk away as Embiid explodes
An enraged Embiid charged the officials after the ejection and was restrained.
'I have a lot to say, as a woman…what the hell was I thinking?'
Analyst Alaa Abdelnaby questioned where Embiid made contact with Schroeder, but said the Philadelphia star had no excuse for seeing red.
'Joel has to be better than that. Good? Because that's too easy for the referees,” Abdelnaby said during the replay. “He's harassing her.”
As the opening scenes played out live, Abdelnaby was shocked by what he was seeing.
“This is unbelievable,” he said, as Embiid exploded. 'This is incredible. This is Mickey Mouse. This is not real. This is a joke… This is a joke.'
Skip Bayless also criticized X after seeing the incident, saying: 'Embiid simply lost his cool (and momentarily his mind) and was ejected in Philadelphia. Surely it wasn't because Wemby already had 7 blocks…'
And if Embiid had read the reactions on social media Monday night, he wouldn't have seen much support for his actions.
Viral NBA X account '@casualtakeking' shared the clip and said: 'Yes, Joel Embiid earned this ejection. There's no need to yell in that woman's face like that with all due respect.'
Another NBA fan account, BricksCenter, shared the clip and said, “Embiid intimidates a much smaller woman, right?”
Meanwhile, YouTuber Swipa said, “Even if you don't think it was an offensive foul, Embiid ABSOLUTELY lost control and that's an immediate ejection.”