U.S. basketball star booed by French fans for choosing to represent America

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid was booed relentlessly by French fans during the US men’s basketball opener against Serbia.

Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and possesses a French passport, chose to represent his adopted country of America at the Olympics.

According to Yardbarker, Embiid has never lived in France, receiving his French passport in 2022, which led to some thinking he would represent the hometown team in Paris.

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Per The Daily Mail, Embiid was met with boos whenever he was involved in any form of action, whether it was warming up, coming off the bench, or receiving the ball during the game.

Embiid had three options to choose from when it came to the 2024 Olympics, with Cameroon, France, and the US all vying for the Sixers big man.

Eventually, the former first-round pick chose the US, with Embiid telling the New York Times, “I got my home country, Cameroon, which I love, and the U.S., where I've been for 14 years now, and then France, where I have a lot of family.”

Embiid continued, “I kind of felt rushed in that decision. I wanted to take as much time as possible, and it didn't help that France had put an ultimatum on when the decision had to be made,” he has in the past claimed his decision to represent America was in part due to his son being born there.

There is also the slightly more cynical thought Embiid’s decision will have been led by his desire to win a gold medal, something almost guaranteed for the US considering their team includes some of the greatest to ever play the sport.

Despite being heavy favorites for the gold, the US hasn’t been overly impressive in pre-tournament warm-ups but were able to find their form on the big stage, cruising to a 110-84 win over Serbia.

Despite his team’s dominant performance, Embiid struggled in the US’ opening game, scoring four points on 2-for-5 shooting and committing three fouls, per Yardbarker. The former NBA MVP will be hoping he can turn things around when the US face South Sudan on July 31st.

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