Former French NT center calls for Joel Embiid's ban in France / News - Basketnews.com

Frederic Weis said, although in a kind of joking manner, that Embiid should lose his French passport and be banned from entering France.

Credit: Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

A document surfaced this week where Joel Embiid had promised French President Macron he would not play for any national team other than France. One former French NT player had rough words for Embiid about it.

Joel Embiid

Team:Philadelphia 76ersPosition:CAge:30Height:213 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:Yaounde, CameroonProfileNewsStatistics

Although he is mostly known for being on the wrong end of the poster dunk by Vince Carter during the 2000 Olympics, Frederic Weis was a prominent member of the French national team for years.

Appearing on the Grandes Gueules du Sport show on French TV channel RMC, Weis said he detested the Philadelphia 76ers center.

"I think this guy is as good a basketball player as he is as bad of a guy. I hate him for this thing he did. I think he has a lack of respect for France, he has a lack of respect for all these people who ask for passports and who do not receive them. And under the pretext that we are high-level athletes, we are entitled to that, I find it scandalous, I find it shameful," Weis said.

Although he said it in a kind of joking manner, Weis suggested the French authorities should not allow Embiid to enter France for the Paris Olympic Games this upcoming summer.

"But I don't care about Joel Embiid's excuses, they're worthless since his word is worthless. On the contrary, [he should] lose the nationality, [he should be] banned from French territory, you are not going to play in the Olympic Games," Weis declared, with other members of the show laughing. "You come with Team USA, and at the airport, they tell you: 'You are not allowed to enter the country; you are going home. You are Cameroonian, you are American, you are not French, you get out.'

Despite promising President Macron to choose France, Embiid will ultimately play for Team USA, which will feature a myriad of superstars, following the embarrassment at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

"We still have to recontextualize - Joel Embiid is an extraordinary basketball player. He's a player who was NBA MVP last year," Weis said. "This is why France was able to give him a passport because we would've gained enormously in sporting terms. For me, we are in a sports business where now, we choose our selection in the same way as we choose our team. 'Who's the highest bidder? Where am I most likely to win? [That's where] I'mgoing.' And unfortunately, it is almost accepted everywhere."

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