Washington Wizards superstar Russell Westbrook needed to be restrained after a fan dumped popcorn on his head as he left the floor with an injured ankle during Wednesday night’s game in Philadelphia.
Westbrook exited the game with more than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after stepping on the foot of 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz and rolling his ankle. Popcorn was dumped on Westbrook’s head as he went through the tunnel and he had to be restrained by team and Wells Fargo Center security.
“I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens,” Westbrook said after the game. “In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”
The Sixers responded with a statement after the game.
“This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” read a statement from Sixers president of business operations Valerie Camillo. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country … but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”
A fan was escorted out by security after the incident.
The incident prompted a tweet from LeBron James.
“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! Cause if the [shoe] was on the other [foot].”
The Wizards fell 120-95 to the Sixers in the game to go down 2-0 in the series. Westbrook scored 10 points on 2 of 10 shooting with 11 assists in 29 minutes.
–Field Level Media