The NBA has finally decided to step in with the hopes of slowing down the growing beef between Sixers center Joel Embiid and noted dad LaVar Ball. The league announced that it has levied a $10,000 fine against Embiid after he went onto Instagram live and said “f*ck LaVar Ball.”
Wow. Joel Embiid fined by the NBA for using inappropriate language on social media: pic.twitter.com/FmphCD0TNr
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 8, 2017
Aside from the fact that it’s kind of unusual for the league to police social media like this and that policing what players say on social media can be a slippery slope, this is the latest chapter in what has been a strange-but-entertaining feud between the Sixers’ star big man and the guy behind Big Baller Brand.
On the night of the 2017 NBA Draft, Embiid and Ben Simmons made a joke or two at the expense of LaVar’s son, Lonzo. Embiid’s tweet included a reference to LaVar, as he recalled a joke that Simmons’ sister made and said he wanted someone to dunk on Lonzo so hard that “his daddy runs on the court to save him.”
LaVar has responded to Embiid, namely by saying that he should get off of Twitter and that he’s not intelligent. Now, before anything else can happen between the two, the league is trying to keep this feud from growing. Whether or not that works remains to be seen, but at the very least, the first Sixers-Lakers game in Los Angeles is going to be one to watch. Especially if LaVar is in attendance, which seems like a foregone conclusion.
