76ers’ Joel Embiid slams $50,000 fine over ‘lewd gesture’

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid slammed the NBA’s decision to fine him $50,000 over a “lewd gesture” he made during the team’s 109-108 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Embiid went up for a shot in the first quarter on Friday night when he was fouled. He made the shot and appeared to celebrate the make with a “crotch chop” – made famous in the WWE during the height of the “Attitude Era.”

On Sunday, the NBA levied a fine against the center and he didn’t appear to be too pleased.

“Yall better start fining the refs for doing the ‘Lewd’, ‘blocking foul’ gesture since I’m not allowed to do it,” he wrote in a post on X.

He then posted a GIF of an NBA official making an energetic signal to signal a blocking foul at an unrelated game.

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Embiid has been known to make the “crotch chop” gesture in celebration during games in the past. So much so, that it drew pro wrestling legend Paul Leveque, of the WWE faction D-Generation X, to the Xfinity Arena at the height of the 76ers’ success in recent years.

The loss to the Celtics was the 76ers’ first of the season.

Embiid, who battled injuries during the 2024-25 season, has 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season.

Embiid is a seven-time All-Star and one-time MVP.