Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 125-108 road loss against the Philadelphia 76ers after going into the stands and verbally confronting a fan at Wells Fargo Center.
After he made one of two free throws with 3 minutes, 6 seconds left, Thomas said he was running back and a fan had “both of his middle fingers up and said ‘f— you b—-‘ three times.”
When the Wizards called a timeout at the 2:53 mark, Thomas said he went into to the stands “to confront him.”
“I said: ‘Don’t be disrespectful. I’m a man before anything. Be a fan.’ His response was ‘I’m sorry, I just wanted a Frosty,'” Thomas said, adding that he believes the fan’s behavior stemmed from a 76ers promotion where fans are awarded a frozen dessert if an opposing player misses two free throws in the second half.
Thomas said he identified the fan to security to have the individual removed from the game.
“That crossed the line. I’ve got kids. I’ve got a family. That’s not okay at all. So I just went to go tell him that,” Thomas said. “I’m never going to be disrespected in any way.”
Thomas had 20 points and three assists in 25 minutes in Saturday’s loss.