Alaa Abdelnaby, who was calling Monday night’s game between the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers as an analysis on NBC Sports Philadelphia, had a lot to say about the ejection of Philadelphia star Joel Embiid.
Embiid was called for an offensive foul in the second quarter as he worked in the paint against San Antonio’s Victor Wembanya. He immediately protested the call and was quickly assessed a pair of technical fouls by referee Jenna Schroeder, which led to his ejection. Abdelnaby had some pointed words in his immediate reaction.
“This is unbelievable — This is unbelievable,” Abdelnaby said after Embiid was ejected. “This is Mickey Mouse. This isn’t real. This is a joke.”
Abdelnaby then reiterated, “This is a joke” after play-by-play person Kate Scott noted that the Philadelphia assistants were trying to cool Embiid down.
This was Abdelnaby immediate reaction to the ejection.
“This is unbelievable. This is unbelievable. This is Mickey Mouse. This isn’t real. This is a joke…This is a joke.”
(H/T @magicvibesio)pic.twitter.com/JmnWrPCFBe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 24, 2024
It’s possible that Abdelnaby’s frustration wasn’t limited to Embiid’s ejection. Earlier in the game, Philadelphia’s Andre Drummond was ejected after Wembanyama fell to the floor. Drummond’s ejection was overturned. Embiid’s was not.
When the game returned from commercial following Embiid’s ejection, the broadcast showed a replay of the sequence that led to it. Scott said that Embiid was ejected for making contact with Schroeder — something Abdelnaby disputed.
“Where? Where?” he asked. “I don’t see contact. I see him talking to her.”
At that point, an angle was shown which showed Embiid’s chin bumping into Schroeder’s hands as she was assessing his first technical. Seeing that, Abdelnaby shifted his tone.
“Joel’s gotta be better than that. Right? Because that’s just to easy for the officials.”
Alaa Abdelnaby on Joel Embiid’s ejection. pic.twitter.com/l5chqqchWn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 24, 2024
“Joel’s gotta be better than that,” he said. “Right? Because that’s just to easy for the officials.”
Fortunately for Abdelnaby, the 76ers overcame Embiid’s absence, posting a 111-106 victory.
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