SUMMARY
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Washington Wizards superstar Russell Westbrook needed to be restrained after a fan dumped popcorn on his head as he left the floor with an injured ankle during Wednesday night’s game in Philadelphia.
Westbrook exited the game with more than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after stepping on the foot of 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz and rolling his ankle.
Popcorn was dumped on Westbrook’s head as he went through the tunnel and he had to be restrained by team and Wells Fargo Center security.
“I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens,” Westbrook said after the game. “In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”
The Sixers responded with a statement after the game.
“This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” read a statement from Sixers president of business operations Valerie Camillo. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country … but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”
A fan was escorted out by security after the incident.
The incident prompted a tweet from LeBron James, who said the players want to “see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with [an] injury” and said “there’s no excuse.”
Westbrook said game spectators can’t just “do and say as they please.”
“For me, there are a lot of incidents where fans, they say whatever, and the consequences for me are a lot more instrumental than to the fans in the stands because they feel they are untouchable,” Westbrook added.
“Obviously I have learned to look the other way. But to a certain extent, you can’t just keep looking the other way. There has to be some penalties or something to put in place where fans just can’t come to the games and do and say as they please.”
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said the fan should be banned.
The Wizards fell 120-95 to the Sixers in the game to go down 0-2 in the series. Westbrook scored 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting with 11 assists in 29 minutes. – Rappler.com
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