Joel Embiid gets heckled by French fans upon Olympics arrival
Apr 16, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) before game one of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid did not exactly get the warmest of welcomes on Wednesday upon arriving in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Embiid is playing for Team USA at the Olympics, though he was eligible to play internationally for France. The Cameroonian-born center was granted French citizenship in 2022 but ultimately opted against committing to them for the Paris Olympics, which did not go down well there. Some of that ill feeling still lingered as Embiid headed to the USA bus with his American teammates.
Hecklers could be heard telling Embiid in French to “give back your passport” and telling him that he made a mistake by not playing for France.
As Joel Embiid arrived in Paris with Team USA, he was met with heckles and jeers from French fans. Phrases like "Give back your passport" and "You should have played for France" were reportedly shouted at him. pic.twitter.com/gXTYNZw27j
— OpenCourt-Basketball (@OpenCourtFB) July 24, 2024
All of this seems pretty good-natured. There was some chuckling in the crowd as Embiid passed, and Embiid himself even laughed a bit at some of the comments being directed his way.
Embiid has said he had his own personal reasons for choosing to play for Team USA over France. On the other hand, he has also gotten off to a very slow start with Team USA, while the French frontcourt is already loaded with Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.
