While Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were the instigators of Wednesday’s brawl between the Sixers and Timberwolves, they weren’t the only players who jumped in the fray. Ben Simmons was among the players who ended up on the ground with Towns during the fracas, with referees ruling that Simmons was acting as a “peacemaker.” According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves are pushing back on that ruling.
As Wojnarowski details, the Timberwolves are arguing that Simmons had Towns in a “dangerous choke hold” as he pinned him to the floor. Minnesota’s front office was in touch with NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, sources tell Wojnarowski, and presumably the Wolves would like to see Simmons receive some sort of discipline as a result of the altercation.
According to Michael Lee of The Athletic (Twitter link), people on the Wolves’ side may have been even more upset with Simmons’ actions than Embiid’s, and questioned why he was allowed to stay in the game.
For their part, the Sixers were “adamant” in supporting the referees’ conclusion that Simmons was a peacemaker, per Woj. The 76ers have also been in contact with VanDeWeghe and the league office, telling the NBA that they believe Towns was the aggressor in the fight.
The NBA will review the tape and interview participants and witnesses beginning today as it determines the appropriate punishment for those involved in the brawl, says Wojnarowski. Neither team plays until Saturday, so the league has some time to mull its decisions.
As we detailed in our earlier story on the incident, Embiid and Towns brought the fight to social media after the game, though it’s not clear whether the league will take those tweets and Instagram posts into account when considering discipline.
No surprise that execs from that sorry a** franchise would go crying about Ben to the league office. Everything about the TWolves is soft and they’ve never accomplished anything. I feel bad for RoCo having to play there.
no matter how u feel about the wolves u cant argue the fact that simmons did indeed have towns in a chokehold on the floor…wonder which kardashian he learned that from :D
Truth be told I’d let any of those girls choke me out. In all seriousness, I thought Ben & KAT were buddies. I hope Ben was just trying to calm him down and not actually trying to choke him.
doesnt really matter whatbhe was TRYING to do, fact of the matter is he had him in a chokehold to the point KAT was tapping out lol. that’s not peacekeeper as far as im concerned. the wolves have every right to be upset and ben should expect a suspension of probably 1-3 games
The fact is, it wasn’t a choke hold at all. Bens right arm was over Kara right shoulder, gripping bens other arm which went under Kats other arm. He did not choke him, his arms were across his chest and not neck. Look at the tape
Not to mention, KAT made no motion or showed any displeasure with Ben when he got up. If he was getting choked, you think he just walks away without sayin something
U can put your hands around somebody’s neck but not choke them. Simmons definitely had him in a choke hold even tho he wasn’t trying to choke him. In that situation, especially as an opponent, you can’t have the guy in a choke hold, whether you’re choking him or not. And players have to focus more on grabbing their own teammate instead of opponents, soas not to potentially escalate the situation more. You grab your teammate to hold him back and the opponent is free to punch your teammate (and does), his suspension is more severe. And, hell, a fight today isn’t really a real fight anyway. Just grab your teammate.
He definitely didn’t have him in a choke hold. His hands/arms were not cutting off his airway. They went over one shoulder and under the other, draping across his chest. Can’t choke someone in a glorified bear hug
Gotta love a fan of a team that hasn’t won a title in 36 years, calling another franchise sorry LMAO!
Because not wanting someone to choke their player makes them sorry.
Delusional Philly fanatics
Was it the chokehold that gives the Wolves that impression? Suspension coming, Bennnnnnnn.
Funny, if he was a “peacemaker” why didn’t he put the idiot Embiid in a chokehold?
It’s funny you would think a franchise like the Timberwolves who are experts at choking in the few important moments they ever get would actually know what a chokehold is. Enough whining you wouldn’t hear Knicks or Pacers players whine like this in the 90s.
This ain’t the Starks/Miller NBA no more. Malice at the Palace ended that
Don’t worry be happy! This message is approved by China per the No guy’s NBA inc
If Ben Simmons lays on dudes back and puts him in a chokehold then he gets suspended. “whining and crying” doesn’t have a lot to do with the whole thing. It’s just facts.
It does look like Simmons is trying to be a peacemaker despite his “chokehold” and KAT does seem to calm down a bit right after you see Ben talking to him. I get the perception though, your guy is in a scuffle and someone from the other side is holding him down with his arm around his neck/upper body. The only real person who would know though is KAT. Obviously I don’t expect Minnesota’s or Philly’s coaches to be unbiased and Simmons didn’t exactly inspire innocence with his comments.
Both KAT and Embiid will get suspended, and KAT probably gets more since he threw a punch, but Embiid looked every bit the aggressor there as much as KAT did. Its hard to see exactly, but to me it looks like either KAT tries to pull Embiid’s arm (reminiscent of how Kelly Olynyk dislocated Kevin Love’s shoulder in 2015) or Embiid tries to push KAT away and then pushes him another two times before it really escalated.
Hands on another player in an aggressive manner… doesn’t matter if Simmons intended it to be “peaceful,” he needs to get at least a couple of games.
Wolves are a joke. Not a homer response, but KAT before the game said it’s not about the matchup and then laid an egg and got tossed around like a rag doll on the block vs JoJo and got butt hurt when the ball was taken away from him.
He put up 13 points (5-7 shooting) and 6 boards in 23 minutes. I would hardly say that’s a “laid an egg” statline.
And every star gets upset when they think they get fouled (regardless of whether or not it was actually a foul, which I don’t think KAT got fouled on the play) and miss a shot/turn the ball over.
He was -13, if he thinks hes the best player in the league, he would have accepted the challenge. It looked like Shaq vs Chris Dudley.