By David Aldridge, Tony Jones and Sam Amick
Philadelphia 76ers star middle Joel Embiid shoved a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist within the Sixers locker room Saturday night time, 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 Day by day Information, lately 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 stated he had completed “manner 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 stated on a number of events virtually precipitated him to cease taking part in basketball. Embiid’s 4-year-old son is called 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 crew’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 crew supply stated.
An NBA spokesman stated Saturday, “We’re conscious of stories 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 crew 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 maintain him wholesome for the postseason.
Embiid had surgical procedure on his left knee final February, which saved him out for a lot of the second half of the 2023-24 common season. He returned for a first-round playoff sequence towards the New York Knicks and was noticeably hobbled all through the sequence. 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 middle, 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 essential 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 over time.
“The diploma of contempt Embiid has for his group, for his business, and, particularly, for the followers who pay him all of his cash is completely 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 can be marketed. Embiid’s a part of the discount is to point out up and play basketball. However he doesn’t even hassle to be in adequate form to carry up this a part of the discount.
It’s unbelievable dereliction of responsibility. It’s totally unacceptable.”
In preliminary variations of the column, Hayes wrote this:
“Joel Embiid persistently factors to the delivery of his son, Arthur, as the foremost inflection level in his basketball profession. He typically says that he needs 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 12 months 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 known as “inconsistent” statements from the crew relating to Embiid’s well being standing, Hayes criticized Embiid once more. Hayes instructed the crew provide refunds to followers who purchased tickets in good religion for dwelling video games this season, solely to be taught that Embiid would seemingly miss a number of video games throughout the 12 months 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 spite of everything, he’s missed 46 % 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 because of damage. That’s about 25 % of what each full season-ticket holder paid for.”
On Friday, Hayes once more criticized Embiid after Embiid clapped again towards the criticism, saying he’d “completed manner an excessive amount of for this f—–g metropolis to be handled like this, so I’ve completed manner too f—— a lot.”
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In his Friday column, Hayes acknowledged Embiid’s MVP award, in addition to his having carried the franchise, and stated Embiid “would possibly wind up being the perfect participant in franchise historical past. However, in contrast to Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Allen Iverson, to call a number of, Embiid’s groups haven’t superior previous the second spherical of the playoffs. And whereas Embiid has performed via damage and illness within the postseason, properly, 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 exhausting 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 because of a proper foot damage, surgical procedure and re-injuring his foot. However he started to say himself in his third professional season and hasn’t appeared again since, turning into the face of the controversial rebuilding plan the Sixers undertook that turned often 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 tormented by lower-body accidents all through his profession, lots of which occurred both late in common seasons or in playoff sequence.
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 towards Milwaukee on Oct. 23, the NBA launched an investigation that finally confirmed the priority about his left knee.
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If the league had found that Embiid was, in truth, wholesome and that the Sixers had determined to prioritize the playoffs whereas routinely resting him throughout the common season, then the league’s hammer would have definitely fallen exhausting. However league sources informed 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 completed if he had performed in these opening video games to the common season.
The league nonetheless fined the 76ers $100,000, however it was because of the public statements.
Required studying
(Picture: Justin Casterline / Getty Pictures)
