Former Knicks pick Frederic Weis has absolutely put Joel Embiid on blast for his decision to play for Team USA over France in the Olympics and even went as far as saying the big man should be banned from the country.
Weis, who became infamous over as the guy Vince Carter performed his ‘dunk of death’ on in the 2000 Olympics, said on his French radio show that he hates Embiid for betraying the French team and thinks him to be “dirty guy”.
“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. “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.”
Embiid was born in Cameroon and holds French and American citizenship – so could have represented any of those three countries.
Although Embiid denies it, Boris Diaw, the general manager of the French men’s team, told The Athletic that Embiid informed him he wanted to play for France.
There were also reports of a letter Embiid sent to French President Emmanuel Macron which asked for “French naturalization” to be able to represent the country.
Much to France’s dismay, Embiid made the decision to play for Team USA in October and explained his reasoning.
For Embiid’s actions, Weis jokingly said that Embiid shouldn’t be allowed to enter France for the upcoming Olympics.
“I would take away from him the French nationality and I would ban him from entering France. You will not play in the Olympics,” Weis said. “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 Cameroonian, you are American, you are not French, go away.’”