76ers issue 1-year ban to fans who yelled obscenities at Thomas
The two Philadelphia 76ers fans who insulted and yelled obscenities at Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas Saturday have been banned from the Wells Fargo Center for 12 months, a team spokesperson told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The season-ticket holder who gave the two fans seats for the game had his tickets revoked, according to Pompey.
Thomas was ejected in the fourth quarter Saturday after going into the stands to confront the two fans.
"When I missed the first free throw and made the second, I'm running back, and a fan has both of his middle fingers up and said, 'F--- you b----,' three times," Thomas said after the contest. "So then the timeout goes, and I go into the stands to confront him. I said, 'Don't be disrespectful.'
"And his response was, 'I'm sorry I just wanted a Frosty.' Because if you miss two free throws, I guess the fans get a Frosty."
A new video taken by a fan surfaced Sunday that appears to corroborate Thomas' version of events. The veteran is seen walking into the stands before calmly asking a pair of 76ers fans to stop what they're doing.
🇺🇸 Isaiah Thomas confronted a Sixers fan last night during a timeout after being shown the finger
— Davide Chinellato (@dchinellato) December 22, 2019
🇮🇹 Il confronto tra Isaiah Thomas e il tifoso di Philadelphia che l’ha insultato #NBApic.twitter.com/cgExzBdsOB
Thomas admitted he expects to hear from the NBA but hopes that they side with him after an investigation.
"I didn't scare nobody. I didn't even use a curse word," he said, according to The Washington Post's Candace Bucker. "So when the league investigates, I'm going to tell them the exact same thing - and hopefully they should understand it."