In what could become a precedent for other professional sports leagues, the NBA has cracked down on the use of a swear by one of its stars. Normally, a player might be fined for swearing at a referee or at someone during a press conference. However, in the case of the Philadelphia Sixers' big man Joel Embiid, it was for using a curse word on social media. Embiid, who was sidelined for his first two years as part of the Sixers, has been active on his social media accounts. So what did he say to Lavar Ball to cost him $10,000?

Embiid's message

For NBA fans who have been following Lonzo Ball from UCLA through the NBA Draft and into Summer League, are quite familiar with his outspoken dad, LaVar Ball.

It seems that just about every event which features Lonzo also features an interview with the proud father, LaVar.

When Lonzo Ball was initially drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, it immediately got Embiid tweeting about the rookie. He even ordered a "dunk" by teammate Ben Simmons on the former UCLA star, which drew a response from Simmons on Twitter. Embiid told Simmons to dunk so hard on the rookie it would make him "run to his daddy."

In another online message, Embiid said "F--- Lavar" as part of his message, which clearly did not sit well with the NBA. The front office gave Embiid a $10,000 fine for swearing towards a fellow NBA player's family member.

LaVar Ball was asked on the street to give comments about Embiid's messages, and in Lavar Ball fashion, he fired back.

While Embiid didn't give any comment about the fine on his Twitter, other than retweeting brand new Oklahoma City Thunder player Patrick Patterson who talked about the rights to use social media.

Patterson certainly raises the idea of players using free speech on social media.

It's also an interesting issue that has arisen with social media use in modern day sports as players represent teams which are run like businesses. A dress code had also been instituted in the NBA as part of that to give players a more professional look as they arrived for games, or sat on the sidelines not playing in them.

Teammate hurt

While the fine may be light on the wallet of a multimillionaire NBA star, the latest injury to his upcoming teammate is not. On Saturday night, Sixers' No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz landed badly on another player's ankle. He was on the court for several minutes and clutching his ankle until he was given assistance to leave the court.

The report later indicated that Markelle Fultz suffered a high ankle sprain for his injury. It will sideline the rookie for the rest of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League games.

Joel Embiid is certainly hoping that his teammate doesn't suffer the same fate as he and Ben Simmons have, with each one falling to injuries ahead of their rookie seasons.
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