Joel Embiid shoves columnist in 76ers locker room, per sources; NBA to analyze the incident

By David Aldridge, Tony Jones and Sam Amick

Philadelphia 76ers star heart Joel Embiid shoved a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist within the Sixers locker room Saturday evening, a number of league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The bodily altercation occurred after Embiid and the columnist, Marcus Hayes, argued following Philadelphia’s 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Hayes, a longtime columnist for the Inquirer, and beforehand, the Philadelphia Every day Information, not too long ago wrote a column that Embiid thought-about personally disparaging to him and his household, which Embiid expressed to reporters after Friday’s observe.

Partially, Embiid mentioned he had achieved “means an excessive amount of for this f—–g metropolis to be handled like this.” The column in query, written Oct. 23, introduced up Embiid’s son and his brother, Arthur, who died in a automotive crash at age 13 in 2014, a tragedy that Embiid has mentioned on a number of events virtually triggered him to cease taking part in basketball. Embiid’s 4-year-old son is known as Arthur, after his brother.

Embiid has but to play in a recreation this season, one which has begun with a 1-4 begin with out Embiid and star ahead Paul George, together with Saturday’s loss.

Hayes went to the sport Saturday and entered the group’s locker room after the sport ended. Embiid sought him out, and their dialog quickly deteriorated.

Hayes didn’t reply bodily to Embiid’s shove, a group supply mentioned.

An NBA spokesman mentioned Saturday, “We’re conscious of studies of an incident within the Sixers locker room this night and are commencing an investigation.”

Embiid’s taking part in standing this season has been a constant supply of dialog and frustration for the group and the seven-time All-Star, who has been injured each postseason for the previous a number of years, a contributing issue to the franchise failing to get out of the second spherical of the playoffs throughout his tenure. Embiid and the 76ers have labored on a possible plan for the middle to have the ability to play within the common season however play fewer video games to attempt to hold him wholesome for the postseason.

Embiid had surgical procedure on his left knee final February, which stored him out for a lot of the second half of the 2023-24 common season. He returned for a first-round playoff collection in opposition to the New York Knicks and was noticeably hobbled all through the collection. The Knicks received it in six video games.

However Embiid performed within the Paris Olympics for Workforce USA this summer season, serving as its beginning heart, and seemed to be wholesome. In 76ers coaching camp, although, minor swelling was found in his knee, and Embiid has been shelved since.

Hayes has written a number of columns within the final week-plus which were harshly crucial of Embiid, chiding him for his poor conditioning coming into the season after taking part in within the Olympics, and knocking Embiid for his quite a few absences through the years.

“The diploma of contempt Embiid has for his group, for his trade, and, particularly, for the followers who pay him all of his cash is totally flabbergasting,” Hayes wrote in an Oct. 23 column within the Inquirer. “As a result of followers purchase the tickets, and followers watch TV, and followers purchase the merchandise on TV which are marketed. Embiid’s a part of the cut price is to point out up and play basketball. However he doesn’t even trouble to be in adequate form to carry up this a part of the cut price.

It’s unbelievable dereliction of responsibility. It’s completely unacceptable.”

In preliminary variations of the column, Hayes wrote this:

“Joel Embiid constantly factors to the start of his son, Arthur, as the most important inflection level in his basketball profession. He usually says that he desires to be nice to go away a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an vehicle accident when Embiid was in his first yr as a 76er.”

That paragraph was taken out of later variations of the column that ran on-line.

This previous Wednesday, after the NBA fined the 76ers $100,000 for what it referred to as “inconsistent” statements from the group concerning Embiid’s well being standing, Hayes criticized Embiid once more. Hayes prompt the group provide refunds to followers who purchased tickets in good religion for dwelling video games this season, solely to study that Embiid would probably miss a number of video games through the yr to keep away from taking part in in again to backs.

“Moreover, it’s extremely unlikely that Embiid will play in all the ensuing dwelling video games, even when they’re not back-to-backs; in any case, he’s missed 46 p.c of regular-season video games because the Sixers drafted him in 2014,” Hayes wrote. “So it’s honest to imagine that he’ll miss 10 dwelling video games, none of them on account of damage. That’s about 25 p.c of what each full season-ticket holder paid for.”

On Friday, Hayes once more criticized Embiid after Embiid clapped again in opposition to the criticism, saying he’d “achieved means an excessive amount of for this f—–g metropolis to be handled like this, so I’ve achieved means too f—— a lot.”

In his Friday column, Hayes acknowledged Embiid’s MVP award, in addition to his having carried the franchise, and mentioned Embiid “may wind up being the most effective participant in franchise historical past. However, in contrast to Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Allen Iverson, to call a couple of, Embiid’s groups haven’t superior previous the second spherical of the playoffs. And whereas Embiid has performed by means of damage and illness within the postseason, effectively, he’s not the one one. Right here’s a thought: Be in higher form when the playoffs roll round and it received’t be so laborious to play with any accidents that crop up.”

Embiid, 30, is in his tenth season with the Sixers, who drafted him with the No. 3 choose in 2014. He missed his first two NBA seasons on account of a proper foot damage, surgical procedure and re-injuring his foot. However he started to claim himself in his third professional season and hasn’t seemed again since, turning into the face of the controversial rebuilding plan the Sixers undertook that grew to become generally known as “The Course of.”

In eight seasons, Embiid has averaged 27.9 factors, 11.2 rebounds and three.6 assists in 433 regular-season video games. However he’s been affected by lower-body accidents all through his profession, a lot of which occurred both late in common seasons or in playoff collection.

After the Sixers made public feedback about their plan to maintain Embiid out of back-to-back video games this season after which held him out for a nationally televised recreation in opposition to Milwaukee on Oct. 23, the NBA launched an investigation that finally confirmed the priority about his left knee.

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NBA fines 76ers for misrepresenting statements concerning Embiid’s absence

If the league had found that Embiid was, the truth is, wholesome and that the Sixers had determined to prioritize the playoffs whereas routinely resting him through the common season, then the league’s hammer would have actually fallen laborious. However league sources advised The Athletic that Embiid’s left knee, within the eyes of the NBA and the Sixers, was unstable sufficient that there was concern about additional harm being achieved if he had performed in these opening video games to the common season.

The league nonetheless fined the 76ers $100,000, nevertheless it was because of the public statements.

Required studying

(Photograph: Justin Casterline / Getty Photographs)