Isaiah Thomas was not a happy camper Saturday night, and for good reason.
The Washington Wizards guard had numerous obscenities and obscene gestures hurled at him by two Philadelphia 76ers fans, causing him to confront the pair in the stands at Wells Fargo Center. The duo has been banned from the arena for 12 months, and the season ticket holder that provided them the seats has had his tickets revoked.
After the game, Thomas condemned the fans for their actions.
“In no way, shape or form that should be allowed,” he said calmly, per The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “I’ve been in the league for a while. The fans (are) gonna say whatever they want. Don’t ever call me out of my name, because I would never do that to anybody else. I think that crossed the line. I got kids. I got a family. That’s not OK at all, so I just went to go tell him that (in) no disrespectful way, as calm as I am right now. And those are the three things I said and that was his response.”
Thomas said he didn’t notice the fans until one of them flipped him off and continued cursing at him. That didn’t sit well with Thomas whatsoever.
“You know how Philly fans are. Like, that doesn’t bother me,” Thomas said. “When you say the ‘B’ word, that’s not OK. Because if I’m on the street, you won’t ever say that if I’m right next to you, so that’s not OK on any level, and I will not be disrespected like that. Fans can say whatever they want. Don’t talk about my family and don’t say that word. And that’s just what it is, and hopefully the NBA, I know they’re going to investigate. I’m going to tell them the same exact story, and that’s just what happened.”
A video of the incident appears to corroborate his story, as well. (You can check it out here.)
