NBA referee Jenna Schroeder didn’t exactly have the best game on Monday night, and she was the first to acknowledge it.
Schroeder was working the Philadelphia 76ers-San Antonio Spurs game when she triggered one of the most bizarre sequences of the season. 76ers center Andre Drummond, who had gotten a technical foul seconds earlier for talking trash to Spurs counterpart Victor Wembanyama, got tangled up with Wembanyama under the basket in the second quarter. Wembanyama proceeded to hit the deck, leading to Drummond being called for a second technical by Schroeder and ejected.
Schroeder had thought that Drummond shoved Wembanyama. In reality though, Wembanyama had just flopped on the play. That became apparent upon a replay review, and Drummond’s second technical was ultimately rescinded (with Wembanyama being given a flopping technical instead).
Here is the full sequence.
"He didn't do anything"
Andre Drummond gets a T, talks trash to Victor Wembanyama before Wembanyama trips and Drummond is tossed from the game from a ref who thought he pushed Wemby. Nick Nurse loses his mind only for the refs to undo the technical.pic.twitter.com/1j61SXeAA5
— Hot Hand Theory (@HotHandTheory) December 24, 2024
After being “unejected,” Drummond then came back from the locker room to loud applause from the Philly crowd, creating an even more surreal scene.
Andre Drummond is BACK after being ejected and then not ejected pic.twitter.com/JqGM024hZi
— CourtSideHeat (@courtsideheat) December 24, 2024
A courtside video from the game showed Schroeder then coming over to the 76ers bench and admitting to head coach Nick Nurse that “I f–ked up.” She apologized to Nurse and explained that Wembanyama would be getting a technical instead.
Here is the video (but obviously beware of the foul language).
NBA ref Jenna Schroeder:
“I fu*ked up.”
(via @NikJohnson_Art, h/t @OnPattison)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 24, 2024
Though that was a bad whiff from Schroeder, who is in her fifth season as an NBA referee, her admission was at least somewhat refreshing to see. Rather than doubling down or refusing to acknowledge her error, Schroeder didn’t run from the fact that she screwed up.
Granted, any goodwill that Schroeder may have banked there was ultimately short-lived. Later in that very same quarter, she gave a controversial ejection to Philadelphia star Joel Embiid in a chaotic scene.
