The NBA suspended Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid three games without pay for shoving a reporter during a postgame altercation Saturday night. the league announced Tuesday.
“Mutual respect is paramount in the relationship between NBA players and media,” said Joe Dumars, NBA executive vice president and chief basketball operations officer. “While we understand that Joel was offended by the personal nature of the journalist’s original version of the column, the interaction must remain professional on both sides and can never become physical.”
Following the 76ers’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center, Embiid confronted Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid was bothered by a recent column Hayes had written about the forward’s injury problems, a column that had received widespread criticism for referencing Embiid’s son and late brother.
PHLY’s Kyle Neubeck later provided a summary of his company’s post-game show.
“The moment Joel realized I was there, a verbal argument began. Obviously, we can’t repeat many of the words that were said on this show. The basic gist was basically, “You can say I suck, you can say whatever you want about me as a player.” Never put my dead brother’s name in your mouth. Don’t talk about my family. Don’t bring them into this. You want to talk to me like a man and talk to me about basketball, that’s different, but if you ever talk about my family again, we’re going to have real problems.’
“They go back and forth and at some point, say between 90 seconds and two minutes of this back and forth, Joel pushes him. Team security intervenes. The players surround the situation and everyone disperses.”
Hayes’ column was written in reaction to Embiid not being ready for the season, with the Sixers citing a left knee issue. The Sixers were later fined $100,000 for their public statements about Embiid’s health.
The Hayes Column Clue:
“Joel Embiid constantly points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the main turning point in his basketball career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy to the boy named after his little brother, who died tragically in a car accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er.
“Well, to be excellent at your job, you first have to show up for work. Embiid has been excellent at just the opposite. Now, in his 11th season, he has been consistently in poor condition. This poor condition apparently seems We have delayed his debut this season”.
The first paragraph of Hayes’ story was later deleted and he explained in a tweet that “I can see why so many people were upset about this. I’m sorry.“Arthur Embiid died in a car accident in Cameroon in 2014.
Embiid did not accept the apology and criticized Hayes while speaking to reporters on Friday:
“If your body doesn’t react well and tells you one thing, I’ve done it. From what I can tell you, I have broken my face twice, I came back early at risk of losing my vision, I broke my fingers, I still came back. So I’m not going to sit here and say: I see people saying, ‘He doesn’t want to play.’ I’ve done too much for this city putting myself at risk for people to say that. I think it’s nonsense.
“Just like that guy, he’s not here, Marcus, whatever his name is, I’ve done too much for this damn city to be treated like this. I’ve done too much. I wish I was as lucky as the others, but that doesn’t mean I I’m not trying and doing whatever it takes to be there, which I will be very soon.
Embiid has yet to play this season for the 76ers, who have lost five of their first six games. There were hopes the 30-year-old would make his season debut Wednesday at the Los Angeles Clippers, but the suspension will not begin until he is fit and eligible to play.