UPDATED 5/27, 11:20 a.m. ET: The 76ers announced that the fan who dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook is “banned from all events at Wells Fargo Center indefinitely”:
The Sixers’ statement also said, “We apologize to Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards for being subjected to this type of unacceptable and disrespectful behavior. There is no place for it in our sport or arena.”
See original story below.
During Wednesday’s game, a Philadelphia 76ers fan made the awful decision to toss some popcorn on Russell Westbrook as the Wizards star was on his way to the locker room after getting injured.
Westbrook’s ankle injury, as well as the popcorn throwing, went down during the fourth quarter.
As you can imagine, the popcorn tossing did not go well with a visibly upset Westbrook having to get restrained by several people. The fan who threw the popcorn was subsequently identified and ejected.
Following the game, Westbrook, who scored 10 points, was asked about the disrespectful incident by reporters.
“This shit is getting out of hand, especially for me,” Westbrook said. “Just, the amount of disrespect… fans doing whatever the fuck they wanna do. It’s out of pocket, man. It’s out of pocket.”
Westbrook’s teammate Bradley Beal called the display “disgusting.”
LeBron James took to social media to also comment on what went down, writing, “By the way WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with a injury!! There’s cameras all over arenas so there’s no excuse!”
Following the game, Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations for the Wells Fargo Center, condemned the person who threw the popcorn at Westbrook.
“This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” Camillo wrote. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court and home-ice advantage around, but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”
The 76ers won on Wednesday with a final score of 120-95 and are now leading against the Washington Wizards 2-0 in the first-round playoff series. The two teams will face again on Saturday at Capital One Arena.
