"Give back your passport": Joel Embiid's Olympic arrival in Paris met with taunt from French fan
Joel Embiid and Team USA have arrived in Paris for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. Following an unbeaten tour through Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi and London, the team is looking like the strongest candidate to win the gold medal in Paris next month.
This will mark the first time Joel Embiid plays for Team USA after picking the American squad over France, despite allegedly having promised to play for France during these Olympics. After his decision last year in October, French fans and high-profile officials weren't happy with the 2023 NBA MVP.
Upon his arrival in Paris, a disgruntled French fan started trolling the Philadelphia 76ers star, according to a post on X/Twitter:
"Give back your passport. You should have played for France. You're not American."
Joel Embiid had the chance to play for Cameroon, France or the USA this summer. Even though Cameroon appeared to be the favorite, reports suggested that France was an appealing option for the big man. Ultimately, he picked Team USA and is now focused on winning his first gold medal on the international stage.
Joel Embiid explains why he picked Team USA over France
That decision earned Embiid a lot of hate from French fans, and even the president of the basketball federation publicly criticized him for breaking a promise he made. A few days ago, Embiid explained why he decided to represent Team USA over France, where other NBA stars like Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert will play. As per the New York Times "The Interview" podcast, he said:
"I’ve spent half of my life here [US]. I’ve got a great family, great wife, my son, so it just made a lot of sense. I’ve been given the opportunity to be here and accomplish a lot. ... [The decision] was tough. Obviously, 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. I kind of felt rushed in that decision."
He further talked about the political climate between France and Cameroon, and how it aided in his final decision:
"There's a lot of things going on over there. There's a lot of pushback as far as basically kicking out the French because it's been so many years of oppression. So that was my mind-set. I still got my family living in Cameroon, and I don't want to put them through any of that stuff. I want them to be safe."
Joel Embiid has faced a lot of criticism for his lack of success in the NBA, and after picking Team USA over France, many people attacked him, as they felt he picked the easy way to a gold medal with an overpowered squad.