Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has received a three-game suspension after shoving a columnist who mentioned his late younger brother in a recent article.
The physical altercation with Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes occurred at the NBA team’s locker room following their 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Nov. 2.
“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” said Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations in a statement on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
“While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical,” Dumars’ statement continued.
According to the NBA’s press release, Embiid’s suspension will commence with the next NBA regular-season game for which “he is eligible and able to play.”
The original article, published on Wednesday, Oct. 23, was written by Hayes in response to Embiid, 30, being sidelined for “left knee management,” per the NBA.
It began with an introductory paragraph — that has since been deleted — reading, “Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his basketball career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er.”
Embiid welcomed his son Arthur with his wife, Anne de Paula, in September 2020.
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At the time of his brother’s death, he shared a photo of him on Instagram, reflecting on plans he had to visit him that summer.
“RIP for my brother who died at the age of 13. The bad thing is that I hadn’t seen since I left Cameroon 4 years ago and all these days, I was just thinking about next summer so I have a chance to finally see him again….. GOD has a plan for all of us. We just gotta pray. HES GONNA BE MISSED #RIP #WHYHIM,” wrote Embiid in an October 2014 post.
Following readers’ response to his article, Hayes removed the paragraph from his article, writing on X, “So, I rewrote the lede to my column and replaced the picture. I can see why so many people were upset about it. Sorry about that. Thanks for all of the constructive criticism.”
Embiid gave an update on his health to reporters on Friday, Nov. 1, expressing, per NBC Sports Philadelphia: “I had surgery in February or whenever that was, and I did come back early to fight for the team and to play, try to give us a chance. Unfortunately, we lost (to the Knicks in the playoffs). And then I had time to recover. I’ve really still been managing since the last surgery.”
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“Just managing and trying to figure out the best approach, but I feel pretty good. I’ve started doing some live stuff and it feels pretty good, so I should be back pretty soon,” he added.
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