Frédéric Weis: ‘I hate’ Joel Embiid for spurning France to play for Team USA in Olympics

Frédéric Weis’ adverse association with Team USA Basketball took another dive Sunday when the former French national team player said he wants Joel Embiid to be banned from France for choosing to play for the U.S. rather than France in the upcoming Olympics, which will be hosted in Paris. Weis — who has been immortalized for being on the wrong side of Vince Carter’s “dunk of death” in the 2000 Olympics — said on his radio show at the French station RMC that he has “hate” for Embiid for spurning the French team and that he considers the Philadelphia 76ers center to be “a dirty guy.” “I consider this boy a great player as much as he is a dirty guy. I don’t care about his excuses, cause they are his words, and his words mean nothing.” Embiid, who was born and raised in Cameroon before moving to the U.S. in high school, had expressed interest in playing for France as far back as 2018, when he told French newspaper L’Équipe his first choice for international play at the time was Cameroon, but France and the U.S. were options. I therefore do not wish to play for any other national team.” For Embiid’s perceived betrayal, Weis jokingly suggested Embiid should be banned from entering France.