By Frederic Weis — yes, that Frederic Weis — is quite upset with Joel Embiid.
The former Knicks first-round bust and the poster boy for one of the most disrespectful (and greatest) dunks of all time went scorched earth on 76ers star Joel Embiid.
And it had nothing to do with the ongoing Knicks-76ers playoff series.
Weis’ beef with Embiid stems from him choosing to play for Team USA over Team France, despite Embiid becoming a citizen of France just two years ago.
He’s so upset that he “joked” — according to europhoops.net — that he wants Embiid banned from the country.
“I consider this boy a great player as much as he is a dirty guy. I hate him for the things that he did,” Weis said on his radio show on French station RMC, as transcribed by eurohoops.net.
“I think he doesn’t have any respect for France and also for all the people who are asking for a French passport and don’t get it. And under the pretext that he is a great athlete, he got it. I find it scandalous, I find it embarrassing. I don’t care about his excuses, cause they are his words, and his words mean nothing.”
He added in what was described as a joking tone: “I would take away from him the French nationality and I would ban him from entering France. You will not play in the Olympics. You will come to the airport with Team USA and we will say: ‘You don’t have the right to enter the territory, go to your home. You are Cameronian, you are American, you are not French, go away.’”
Weis, the Knicks’ first-round pick in 1999 who never played for the franchise, is not pleased with how Embiid’s recruitment and ultimate decision played out.
Embiid, a Cameroon native, weighed playing in the Olympics for the United State and France before deciding in October he would rather suit up for America.
He said he would have chosen Cameroon had the country already qualified for the Olympics at the time of his decision.
France granted Embiid citizenship in 2022 despite having never lived there, according to The Athletic, although he speaks the language fluently.
French Basketball Federation President Jean-Pierre Siutat and general manager Boris Diaw both told the outlet Embiid told them multiple times during the 2021-22 season he intended to play for France.
An alleged leaked letter from Embiid to French President Emmanuel Macron stating his intent to play for the nation has surfaced recently, according to eurohoops.net.
“Joel came to us and said that he wanted to play international basketball, he said he wanted to win, and he said he wanted to play for France and he wanted to win with France,” Diaw told The Athletic.
Weis seemingly has issues with Embiid being granted citizenship and then leaving France in the dust.
“We must put in context one thing: Joel Embiid is an extraordinary basketball player. He was the MVP of the NBA last year and that’s why France decided to give him the passport last summer because, on the sporting level, we would have amazing gains,” Weis said, according to europhoops.net. “For me, we are living in an era of sports business and now we are choosing the national team, pretty much the way we are choosing our club. Who gives me the better offer? Who is giving me the best chance to win? I will go there. And unfortunately, that’s accepted pretty much everywhere.”
Weis was drafted with the 15th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Knicks, as fans clamored for them to take St. John’s star Ron Artest.
Weis never played a game in the NBA and will forever be known for getting viciously dunked on by Vince Carter in the 2000 Olympics
He is still optimistic about France’s chances without Embiid.
“Just remember what happened in 2021,” Weis said of the United States’ gold medal 87-82 win. “We were in the final against the USA, and the final margin was close. France was always in the top echelon of the contenders.”
