American-French-Cameroonian Philadelphia Sixers player Joel Embiid was fined $75,000 for “ obscene gesture on the field » during his team’s victory against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, the NBA said. The Sixers star celebrated a basket in the first period by making the “ DX crotch chop », a crude provocation that he borrowed from wrestling, consisting of pointing his crotch while forming an “X” or a “V” with the arms. The 30-year-old had already received financial sanctions in the past for this same gesture. Against Boston (118-114), he reproduced it a second time to the Celtics fans after a successful three-point shot just before halftime. Best player (MVP) of the 2023 regular season, Joel Embiid is having a more difficult 2024-2025 year: he only played nine games out of 28 due to injuries and a three-game suspension for shoving a journalist, author of an editorial critical of him also referring to his son and his late brother. Embiid, hampered by his left foot and playing masked to protect a facial injury, is also “ uncertain » for his team’s next meeting, scheduled for Saturday against the Utah Jazz.
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