The Philadelphia 76ers played the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in the second game of their playoff series as the city of brotherly love took the win 120-95. However, the game’s biggest highlight came when Wizard’s star Russell Westbrook injured his ankle during the game and had to be escorted to the locker room for an examination.
On his walk through the tunnel, a 76ers fan dumped popcorn on the injured baller’s head. Unsurprisingly, “Mr. Triple Double” got irate and had to be restrained by security. Westbrook spoke with the press after the game and stated that the disrespect was getting out of control.
“To be completely honest, this s— is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f–k they want to do. It’s just out of pocket. There are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting… [If] a guy were to come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head, you know what happens. In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does,” Westbrook said.
LeBron James also vented his grievances with the incident on Twitter and stood behind Westbrook.
“By the way WE AS THE Players wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with a injury!! There’s cameras all over arena so there’s no excuse! Cause if the shoe was on the other foot… #ProtectOurPlayers.”
When King James speaks, the NBA listens. As a result, the fan has now been identified and punished. The 76ers released a statement on Thursday, May 27, banning the heckler from the arena.
“After an investigation into the incident that occurred at last night’s game, we have determined that the person involved will have his season ticket membership revoked, effectively immediately. In addition, he will be banned from all events at Wells Fargo Center indefinitely. We apologize to Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards for being subjected to this type of unacceptable and disrespectful behavior. There is no place for it in our sport or arena.”
Check out the popcorn altercation on the next page.
