As the Philadelphia 76ers were salting away a 105-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Thursday, things turned ugly when a fan said something out of line in the fourth quarter that should not be said.
Lakers star Carmelo Anthony had to be held back by the officials and his teammates when he got into a shouting match with a fan at center court. The game was only stalled for a bit after the officials, the Lakers, and Sixers star Joel Embiid had to step in and be sure things did not escalate.
In the end, the two fans got ejected and that was the end of one scuffle.
two sixers fans got tossed after an exchange with melo. another one was, er, visibly heated taking to him pic.twitter.com/EJYs5whJjR
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) January 28, 2022
Anthony also got into it with another fan in the corner who kept chirping at him. Embiid stepped in to ensure things were all good.
“I’m not sure,” said Embiid on what happened with the fans. “I was just trying to calm the situation down because they kept going back and forth and I really just wanted to go home and finish the game. That’s why I wanted to calm the situation down so we can just play and move on.”
Afterward, Yahoo!’s Chris Haynes reported what the fans allegedly said to Anthony to set him off.
Sixers fan that was ejected for taunting Los Angeles Lakers star Carmelo Anthony kept calling him a “boy” and yelling “get in the corner boy” and “keeping shooting boy,” league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 28, 2022
In the year 2022, things like this should not be happening. Lakers coach Frank Vogel was not happy after the game as he addressed the media for Los Angeles.
Frank Vogel on courtside incident between Carmelo Anthony and fans: “Unacceptable language and unacceptable behavior by fans, is the simplest way to put it. There’s gotta be a higher standard and hopefully that’s handled the right way.”
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 28, 2022
Anthony himself was asked about the incident and he didn’t say what the fans said. He just said they crossed the line.
Carmelo Anthony says "some things were said, were unacceptable."
He said the #76ers fans "crossed certain lines" & hoped its addressed by the organization.— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) January 28, 2022
One has to assume that these fans will not be allowed back at Wells Fargo Center for a long time.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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