An NBA Ejection Causes a Stir

NBA ref calls a foul. Incensed player berates ref. Ref ejects player. It's not such an unusual chain of events. But one such ejection on Monday night is getting lots of attention, in part because the optics involved an angry man towering over a much smaller woman, then having to be held back. The details:

• The call: Ref Jenna Schroeder called a charging foul on the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, a 7-foot star who quickly confronted her about it. "Embiid was furious, and eventually called for a technical," writes Adam Aaronson in the Philly Voice. "Embiid simply could not contain his fury, leading to another technical, causing him to be ejected from the game."
• Video: Watch it all unfold here. (Embiid is wearing a protective mask because he's recuperating from a sinus fracture.)

• Criticism: Embiid is "immediately is up disputing it," says TNT basketball analyst Stephanie Ready, per the Basketball Network. "She's trying to discuss it calmly, and he goes off. He approaches and steps to her as if he wants to have a physical confrontation, which I have a problem with. He has to be restrained, and he's now out of the game. I have a lot to say as a woman." A tweet by ESPN's Scott Van Pelt backs up Ready's view.
• Consequences? "If the NBA finds that Embiid made contact with Schroeder while arguing, or even if the league determines Embiid attempted to menace or intimidate the official," he faces suspension, per the Athletic. That could mean he doesn't play in a marquee matchup against the Celtics on Christmas Day.
• Context: Earlier in the game, Schroeder had ejected another 76er over a charging call, but in a rare turn of events, the ejection was overturned after a replay review. Refs then issued the opposing player, Victor Wembanyama, a technical for flopping, only to rescind that technical moments later, concluding that he fell when a 76er stepped on his foot, per the AP. It was a confusing turn of events, and Schroeder owned up to the first mistake on the court in colorful language. When Embiid was called for his foul later, the player he knocked over was Wembanyama again, and he may have suspected another flop. Brad Rotkin at CBS Sports finds all this "terribly ironic" because Embiid himself is a "flopper extraordinaire."

(More NBA stories.)