Saturday’s international basketball friendly between Germany and France turned ugly when Evan Fournier grabbed Dennis Schroder by the throat during an unexpected brawl. The former was ejected from the contest even though it was the latter who started it!
Fortunately, the two NBA veterans were able to make amends (kind of) before the court was cleared.
All of this went down late in the first half when France was up 41-23 and Schroder drove to the hoop on a fast break. Waiting for him in the paint was a double-team of Bilal Coulibaly and Fournier, who ripped the ball out of his hands. That did not go over well.
Schroder charged at Fournier as if he was going to ring his neck but thought better and backed off. Fournier countered by doing what Schroder did not. The 31-year-old wrapped his hands around the 30-year-old’s neck with great force. He violently choked him for a moment before throwing him off.
Both teams converged on the kerfuffle to try and clear things up. Schroder continued to charge at Fournier until someone got ahold of him to keep him from further escalation.
Schroder and Fournier exchanged pleasantries for a moment after being separated. They seemed to be getting along until something set it off again. Fournier shouted back at Schroder while making his way to the sideline. Officials threw him out of the game not long thereafter.
Neither player chose to address the incident after the game. A friendly competition that quickly turned hostile resulted in a 24-point blowout win for France.
France and Germany are both in Group B at the Paris Olympics so Evan Fournier and Dennis Schroder will play again in just a few weeks. Even if the air is cleared between them, the rematch is going to be Feisty!