Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford tweeted out his praise of Isaiah Thomas in the aftermath of Thomas' interaction with a pair of hecklers during Saturday night's matchup between the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Crawford said that Thomas handled the incident with “class” and “calmness:”
Proud of my brother @isaiahthomas. The class, and calmness he had in the heat of the moment is to be commended.. 🙌🏾
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) December 22, 2019
Thomas was ejected from the game after entering the crowd to confront two fans after they had reportedly been hurling obscenities and inappropriate gestures at Thomas towards the end of the contest.
The Athletic obtained a video that surfaced on the Internet Sunday morning, in which Thomas implores the fans not to use the language or make gestures and instead to merely “be a fan:”
Isaiah Thomas went into the crowd after a fan said “fuck you bitch” because he wanted Isaiah to miss a free throw to get a free frosty. @thisleague pic.twitter.com/BuScaRqO8r
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 22, 2019
The Sixers have since announced that the fans confirmed to security that they had indeed used bad language and made gestures, and Philly in turn banned the fans for a year.
Crawford is right to point out how calm Thomas was throughout the confrontation. The incident hardly would have been noticeable had Thomas not been ejected or the Wizards broadcast not shown what transpired.
This marked a stark contrast from prior player-fan interactions in recent years, the most high-profile of which involved Russell Westbrook and a Utah Jazz fan accused of hurling racial slurs. The fan has since filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Westbrook.
Follow Us
Subscribe