Pool Report On The Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 Called On Joel Embiid In The First Quarter Of The New York Knicks At Philadelphia 76ers Game

The Pool Report interview was conducted by Keith Pompey (Philadelphia Inquirer) with Crew Chief Zach Zarba following tonight’s Knicks at 76ers Game     

QUESTION:  What determined the Joel Embiid Flagrant Foul 1 versus a Flagrant Foul 2?

ZARBA:   In that situation, the crew gets together, we go and review the foul. In this instance, the crew was unanimous along with the replay center official in Secaucus that this foul was unnecessary but did not rise to the level of a flagrant 2. The unnecessary contact rose to the level of a flagrant 1 but we were unanimous that this did not rise to the level of excessive contact, unnecessary and excessive, which would have been a flagrant 2 ejection. That’s why we kept it a flagrant 1.