Joel Embiid criticizes NBA fine
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Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid criticized the NBA’s decision to fine him $50,000 due to an “obscene gesture” he made during the team’s 109-108 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Embiid stepped up to fire in the first quarter on Friday night when he was fouled. He posed for the photo and appeared to celebrate the hit with a ‘crotch chop’ – made famous in WWE during the height of the ‘Attitude Era’.
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Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid reacts after a basket and foul during the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola/AP Photo)
On Sunday, the NBA fined the center and he didn’t seem too happy.
“Yale better start fining the refs for making an ‘obscene’ and ‘obscene’ gesture because I’m not allowed to do that,” he wrote in a post on X.
He then posted a GIF of an NBA official sending an active signal to indicate a blocking foul in an unrelated game.
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Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers (L) and Triple H perform before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks at the then-Wells Fargo Center on June 6, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Embiid has been known to make the “crotch chop” gesture in celebration during games in the past. So much so that it attracted professional wrestling legend Paul LeVeque, of the WWE D-Generation X faction, to Xfinity Arena at the height of the 76ers’ success in recent years.
The loss to the Celtics was the 76ers’ first of the season.
Embiid, who battled injuries during the 2024-25 season, has 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid tries to rally the crowd after he makes a basket and is fouled during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola/AP Photo)
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Embiid is a seven-time All-Star and a one-time MVP.
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