Ben Simmons Receives Tons of Backlash Over Post-Game Comments

Brotherly love was lacking in the city of Philadelphia on Saturday night after the Philadelphia 76ers took an ugly loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Although it was just Game One of a seven-game series, the opening of the round wasn't a very promising showing by the third-seeded Sixers. Despite the final score having the Sixers losing by a nine-point deficit, their effort on the court was quite uninspiring.

We've seen the Sixers 'mail it in' over the last few weeks of the regular season now, but unfortunately the careless displays they left on the court lapped over into the postseason. And the 76ers fans in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center weren't very pleased.

You could hear the boo's coming from a mile away. After many missed shots, timeouts, and intermissions, the Wells Fargo Center would rain with boos from the unsatisfied Sixers fans. Some players on the team would say the crowd's unpleasant reaction was justified. Others, well, they had an issue with it — specifically, Sixers' point guard, Ben Simmons.

Following the loss, Simmons was met by the media in front of his locker. Coming off of a nine-point showing with three turnovers, and a minus-21 point differential while on the court, Simmons visibly had one of the worst games of his career. Instead of just taking the loss to the chin and moving on, Simmons decided to criticize the Philly fans in attendance who chose to boo.

"If you're going to boo, stay on that side," Simmons said with a frustrated tone after being asked about the crowd's reaction. Naturally, Philly fans lost their minds on social media. And even some NFL players dished in their two-cents on the situation as well.

First, it started with Kansas City Chiefs' safety Tyrann Mathieu, who acknowledged that even an outsider knows Philly will boo their own players if they are under-performing. His advice to Simmons - "Pick ya chin up & stop playing for an audience. Silence the mental."

Los Angeles Chargers' wide receiver Keenan Allen then followed Mathieu's statement by making fun of Simmons' lack of a jump shot. Although his comment had nothing to do with Simmons' initial stance on the Sixers fans booing, it's still clear that the 76ers guard has created more backlash for himself.

After giving it some thought though, it seems as if Simmons realizes he was being a tad bit emotional after the game. As he met with the media on Sunday afternoon to discuss his comments, Simmons brushed it off by saying "It's Philly." In other words, he expects it, although he doesn't like it. He did follow his comment by reiterating his love for the fans. He might've disagreed with their reaction, but he does understand.

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