Philadelphia 76ers star centre and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, Joel Embiid, has been fined $50,000 (£38,000) by the NBA for an on-court action the league officially determined to be a “lewd gesture.”
The incident in question took place on Friday during the 76ers’ narrow 109-108 loss to the Boston Celtics. The 31-year-old Cameroon-born centre made a chopping motion toward his groin after successfully scoring while drawing a foul.
The league’s sanction noted that Embiid has been fined for this specific gesture on multiple previous occasions.
Following the announcement of the fine, Embiid appeared to question the ruling in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The star player suggested that his gesture was similar to a common signal used by officials when calling a blocking foul.
He wrote: “Yall better start fining the refs for doing the ‘lewd’, ‘blocking foul’ gesture since I’m not allowed to do it.”
Embiid was not in the lineup for Philadelphia’s subsequent game on Sunday, a 129-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
He sat out the match as he continues to manage his recovery from a knee injury that required surgery earlier this year.
