Los Angeles Lakers star Carmelo Anthony got a Philadelphia 76ers fan ejected after he was taunting him late in a game. During the final minutes of the contest, Anthony is seen walking towards the stands and yelling at a couple of 76ers fans on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, one 76ers fan was ejected for calling Anthony “boy” and yelling “get in the corner boy” and “keeping shooting boy.”
Anthony confirmed the fan called him “boy” when talking to reporters after the game. “Some things were said,” Anthony said afterward, per ESPN. “Unacceptable. I’m cool with fans heckling, fans talking trash, cheering for their team, booing the other team, I’m all for that. But when you cross certain lines, as a man, you just, that’s what you’re going to see. That’s what you’re going to get, as you saw there.”
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Lakers coach Frank Vogel also weighed in on the situation. “Unacceptable language and unacceptable behavior by fans is the simplest way to put it,” he said. “There’s got to be a higher standard. And hopefully that’s handled the right way.” When Anthony walked towards the stands to confront the fan, officials stepped on the court between both parties. Anthony then walked over to the corner of the court and a third fan had words for Anthony, which is when 76ers star Joel Embiid got between the two.
“I was just trying to calm the situation because they were just going back and forth, and I really wanted to just go home and finish the game,” Embiid said, who helped the 76ers get a 105-87 victory. “So, yes, that’s what I wanted, to calm the situation down so we could play and move on.”
Anthony, 37, has been in the NBA for 19 years and dealt with his share of hecklers. “But there’s just certain things you don’t bring to any type of sporting event,” he said. “There’s just certain things you don’t say to anybody. If I was outside and I bumped into you and you said those things to me, then it would be a totally different story.” Anthony is in his first season with the Lakers after spending time with five different teams in his career. He’s a 10-time NBA All-Star and is also a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
