Yahoo Sports Russell Westbrook after 76ers fan dumps popcorn on him: 'This s*** is out of hand'
A Philadelphia 76ers fan was ejected on Wednesday after throwing popcorn on Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the Game 2 matchup with Philadelphia. As he walked through the tunnel to the locker room alongside Wizards trainers, a fan sitting above the tunnel dumped popcorn on top of him.
Fan dumping his popcorn on Russell Westbrook, who's walking off after twisting his ankle. Fan should be banned for life. No room for this. pic.twitter.com/DXatcX8l9i
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) May 27, 2021
Westbrook was visibly and understandably upset and had to be restrained by Wizards staffers before he eventually continued back toward the locker room. Security identified the fan, who was ejected from the game. On Thursday morning, the Sixers announced that the fan's season tickets are being revoked and he'll be banned from all future events at the Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers announce they’ve revoked the season ticket of the fan who poured popcorn on Russell Westbrook, effective immediately. He is banned from all future events. pic.twitter.com/uTjwS5O3xM
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 27, 2021
The NBA also released a statement about the enforcement of "an enhanced code of conduct."
NBA statement in the wake of recent fan behavior pic.twitter.com/n26hIxvYQD
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) May 27, 2021
The 76ers won the game, 120-95 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Westbrook: 'This s*** is out of hand'
After the game, Westbrook called on the NBA to take better control of fan behavior in the stands.
“This s*** is out of hand," Westbrook said. ... "I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens. ... In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does."
Wells Fargo Center released a statement from president of business operations Valerie Camillo condemning the incident:
"This was classless, unacceptable behavior," Camillo said, per the statement. "We're proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court advantage around, but this type of behavior has no place in our arena."
The series shifts to Washington for Game 3 on Saturday. Westbrook's status for that game remains unclear. "We'll see," Westbrook told reporters of his ailing ankle.
The 76ers are a -10000 favorite to win the series after taking the 2-0 lead.
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