Two people were ejected from the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday after repeatedly referring to Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony as “boy.”
The two fans were forced to leave Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, and Anthony was held back by officials in the process, according to a report.
The fans reportedly called Anthony “boy” by telling him to “get in the corner, boy” and “keep shooting, boy.”
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Anthony confronted the fans and insisted after the game that the racially charged word crossed the line, the report noted.
The incident occurred in the fourth quarter as the Lakers were down 16 points.
“It is what it is,” Anthony said. “Some things was said, unacceptable. I’m cool with fans heckling, fans talking trash, cheering for their team, or the other team. I’m all for that, but when you cross certain lines, as a man, that’s what you’re going to see, that’s what you going to get. I’m sure the people that’s in charge will take care of it … My job is done when it comes to this.”
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel echoed Anthony’s sentiment.
“Unacceptable language and unacceptable behavior by fans is the simplest way to put it,” he said. “There’s gotta be a higher standard, and hopefully that’s handled the right way.”
Anthony did not give an opinion on whether the fans should face consequences.
“That’s not up to me. I’m not in control of that. Only thing I that I can do is — sometimes, you play through it, you try to play through certain things, you play through the heckle, but that’s all fun and games,” he said.
“I’ve been doing that for 19-20 years. Especially coming here, it’s been a great place to come and play, and I know how the fans are here,” he continued. “But there’s just certain things you don’t bring to any type of sporting event, just certain things you don’t say to anybody. If I was outside, I bumped into you, you said those things to me, then it would be a totally different story. But again, it’s out of my hands now. So however they want to play it, they will play it.”
Anthony ended the game with 9 points, three rebounds, and 26 minutes played off the bench, according to the report.
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The Philadelphia 76ers won 105-87.
