Joel Embiid was none too pleased on Tuesday night after the Sixers loss to the Celtics dropped Philadelphia to 1-7 against the three best teams in the East.
Embiid had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the game, but continues to struggle to figure out how to score efficiently against Al Horford. There were a couple of plays late where Embiid was able to get contact that likely should’ve or at least could’ve been called as a foul, but went uncalled that clearly frustrated the All-Star center.
Following the game, Embiid closed his post-game press conference by leaning into the mic and saying the referees “f*cking suck.” Unsurprisingly, that has earned him a $25,000 fine from the league, which doesn’t take kindly to criticism of officials.
76ers star Joel Embiid has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing officials Tuesday night.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 13, 2019
There’s no doubt Embiid saw this coming and, honestly, compared to other fines we’ve seen for criticism, he seems to have gotten his money’s worth with his succinct statement. The referees and players have not seen eye-to-eye an awful lot in recent years, and while disagreements between the sides aren’t new, it seems the relationship between the two is as bad as its ever been.
Embiid isn’t shy in speaking his mind and it would be a surprise if this is the last fine he receives for calling out the league’s officiating.
