Talk about disrespect…
The Denver Nuggets were on the road facing off against the Chicago Bulls on what was “Serbian Heritage Night,” and the referees chose to celebrate the occasion by ejecting the only Serbian player that was on the court.
Nikola Jokic, who is from Sombor, Serbia (and loves to go back there during the offseason), was jawing at one of the refs during the game, and apparently said something that was worthy of being thrown out of the game.
It was reported that he said “call the foul, m*therf***er” to the ref, who promptly tossed him from the game. The call happened shortly before halftime, and caused a lot of confusion on the court when it took place. Broadcasters calling the game did not shy away from criticizing the ejection, saying:
“That’s terrible. That’s excessive. Give the guy a tech, he thought he got fouled. But to eject the guy? Come on now. The people didn’t come to see the officials, let’s be honest, they came to see the players.”
It’s both hilarious and incredibly unfortunate that Jokic got thrown out on “Serbian Heritage Night.” But that wasn’t the only noteworthy, attention-grabbing moment from the night…
When the media went in to the locker rooms following the game, reporters naturally gravitated to Nikola Jokic to see what he had to say about his untimely ejection. His response has certainly intrigued social media, since he appears to subtly threaten the referees that threw him out of the game:
“It is what it is. I’m just happy that we didn’t play in Serbia, this game. It’s could’ve been really fun to see how it would be handled. It was interesting, you know?
It is what it is. Some guys can say whatever. I think sometimes what I said is not even a technical.”
What does he mean exactly by “it would have been fun to see how it would be handled?”
Those on social media have a couple of different theories, with most of them implying that Jokic has some ties with a nefarious group of people in Serbia:
Is this a threat??? He might be part of the Serbian maffia lol
— ᴀᴄʜ™🌐 (@StepbackAch1) December 13, 2023
Adjusting the cuff around your $20,000 Rolex with a smirk while you vaguely threaten the lives of 3 men is such an obscene power move this man is seriously moving different this year https://t.co/P0PrVWp2Jx
— Call the fucking foul, motherfucker (@ayyrod_) December 13, 2023
This gotta be a threat 😂😂
— RidaProps (@RidaProps) December 13, 2023
Same vibes pic.twitter.com/PQ5Sl5mX4G
— DudesExMachina (@DudesExMachina) December 13, 2023
Translation: His mafia affiliated brothers would’ve handled that. (Allegedly)
— The Realest Realist 🏀 (@TRRealist23) December 13, 2023
Then again… if you’ve ever seen Serbian basketball, you know they bring the PASSION. Fans in Serbia would just as soon burn the stadium down before they let their star player get kicked out.
If you ever get the chance to get over there, go see a game… it looks incredible:
