On Friday night we learned that Sixers superstar Joel Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and a mild concussion during a collision late in Game 6 vs. the Raptors, a brutal blow to the Sixers' playoff hopes - not to mention a painful ordeal for Embiid himself.
If you were on the internet Thursday night, you might've seen that TSN color commentator Jack Armstrong said that Embiid 'deserved' to get elbowed in the face by Pascal Siakam on that play.
And I know emotions run high in the playoffs. Everyone says things they don't mean, stuff they'll regret, all of that.
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But... what?!
Even if Embiid walked away totally fine from a pretty strong shot, saying a player 'deserves' to be hit in the face just because he celebrated on your court is a brutal take - and not exactly becoming of a professional broadcaster:
And now that we know the severity of Embiid's injuries, Armstrong's comments are that much uglier.
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Again, I know playoff basketball is a high-tension moment for everyone. We all love these teams and want them to succeed, and familiarity breeds contempt.
But to be gleeful when someone else is in pain? That's just sad.
And Armstrong wasn't the only prominent Raptors voice cheering on the injury to Embiid on Thursday night.
Vivek Jacob, a writer for Raptors.com and the CBC, sent this tweet out after the elbow:
Yikes, man. Yikes.
It's a game. You all need to relax, breathe deep, and maybe think before you tweet angrily in the moment.
Because this is embarrassing.
Raptors fans spent most of this series reminding Sixers fans of the fact that they won a title in 2019. It's true, that happened.
So why haven't you all lightened up a little?
Yes, Sixers fans boo their own players. It's because we care, and because we expect greatness from great players. When they underwhelm or don't try hard, we boo. It's our thing.
Meanwhile, Raptors fans cheer injuries - in real life and online.
Is that yours?