Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected from Saturday’s game after confronting a fan in the stands who yelled “f-you” three times at him because it cost the fan a frosty.
Thomas got nearly face-to-face with the fan who quickly seemed apologetic over his taunts delivered after Thomas’ free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
“I’m never gonna be disrespected in any way,” Thomas said after the game according to the New York Post. “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–k you, b—h’ three times. So then the timeout goes and I go into the stands to confront him. I said, ‘Don’t be disrespectful. … I’m a man before anything, be a fan.’ And his response was, ‘I’m sorry, I just wanted a frosty.'”
The incident was primarily sparked by a promotion created by the Philadelphia 76ers called the “Frosty Freeze Out.” It is a promotion aimed at getting home team fans riled up during a visiting team’s free throws. If the visitors miss both free throw attempts during the third or fourth quarter, fans can get a free frosty.
Thomas missed his first free throw attempt but sunk the second one. This presumably caused the fan to flip Thomas the bird and scream “f-you” three times.
Of his attempt to confront the fan, Thomas added, “I didn’t do anything disrespectful. I just needed to look him in the eye and let him know, ‘You’re never gonna disrespect me.’ I’m not stupid. I’m not about to go in no stands and beat nobody up. I was raised better than that. That’s a word we don’t use where I come from.”
Before being tossed out, Thomas played 25 minutes and completed three assists.
The 76ers also took action. The two fans that Thomas confronted were banned for a year, and the season ticket holder who gave them the tickets lost his passes for the rest of the season.
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