Joel Embiid Handed $35K Fine For In-Game Gesture Paying Homage To WWE Legends

Armon Sadler
·3 min read
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Joel Embiid was fined this week after performing an obscene gesture from the WWE in the middle of an NBA game. The $35,000 penalty was later softened after he was invited to do it at Wrestlemania 40 next year.

The reigning MVP scored a basket through a foul on Sunday (Oct. 29) as the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Portland Trail Blazers and celebrated by performing the “crotch chop.” The gesture comes from the legendary 90s WWE faction D-Generation-X, composed of current WWE chief content officer Triple H, Senior Vice President Of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels, and more.

This wasn’t Embiid’s first time doing the “crotch chop” or being fined for it. He received the same penalty back in January during a game against the Brooklyn Nets. However, Triple H took the opportunity to offer the 29-year-old hooper a space to freely do the move. “Hey @JoelEmbiid – I know a place where you can do that all day, and everyone will love it,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday (Oct. 31). “@Wrestlemania 40 is right there in Philly…”

Wrestlemania 40, the WWE’s two-night special, will take place on Apr. 6 and 7 at Lincoln Financial Field. While Joel Embiid was grateful for the invite, he had to politely decline, as the Philadelphia 76ers will be in the midst of a three-game road trip that same weekend. “Yes sir!!” he wrote, quoting Triple H’s tweet. “I would love to but I don’t think I’m gonna be in Philly for that…#NFL.”

The six-time All-Star and Triple H are no strangers to interacting with one another. In May 2021, ahead of the Sixers’ first game against the Atlanta Hawks in the divisional round of the NBA playoffs, the duo ran onto the court wearing custom D-Generation-X shirts and performed the “crotch chop” together. Embiid also wielded a sledgehammer, Triple H’s signature weapon of choice in the WWE.

The moment went viral and brought together NBA and wrestling fans alike. The Sixers would go on to lose that series to the Hawks in seven games, but he’s made use of the “crotch chop” multiple times since then, even at the expense of his salary.

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