7:26pm: Embiid’s suspension will cover Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, Friday’s contest against the Lakers and Sunday’s game against the Hornets, ESPNs Shams Charania tweets. He’ll be eligible to make his season debut next Tuesday in the NBA Cup opener against the Knicks at Philadelphia.
3:35pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in the team’s locker room on Saturday, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link).
“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” the league’s head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “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.”
Embiid called out Hayes last week for columns in which he harshly criticized the former MVP and was reportedly particularly upset about one piece in which Hayes said the injured center isn’t providing a good example as a father for his son Arthur, who was named after the 30-year-old’s late brother. Hayes mentioned Embiid’s son and brother by name in the original version of the column before later removing the reference.
Embiid confronted Hayes in the locker room following Saturday’s loss to Memphis and reportedly had a heated discussion with the veteran columnist, directing some profane comments his way before shoving him.
Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer shared more details on the altercation earlier this week, writing that Hayes attempted to apologize to Embiid but “was rebuffed before the confrontation turned physical.” Hayes said he met with Sixers president Daryl Morey and GM Elton Brand and that they apologized, asked for his side of the story, and “agreed that Embiid’s actions were unacceptable,” Mizell relays.
Embiid has yet to make his debut this fall due to left knee injury management and his suspension won’t begin until he’s healthy enough to play. That may happen soon — Sam Amick of The Athletic reported this morning that there was hope within the organization that the star big man could play his first game of the season on Wednesday vs. the Clippers.
That obviously won’t happen now, but if Embiid is medically cleared to return, he could begin serving his suspension that night. In that scenario, he’d also miss Friday’s game vs. the Lakers and Sunday’s matchup with the Hornets before potentially suiting up next Tuesday vs. the Knicks.
The suspension will cost Embiid $1,063,778 of his $51,415,938 salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Are there going to be any repercussions for Hayes?
No.
Exactly. His employers gave the article the ok and published it. What do you think they’re going to do now? Fire him?
What a great question @Tacocat. I would venture to say absolutely not….I’m all for freedom of the press and free speech, but we need to stop allowing these writers/media to self-anoint themselves as the gate keepers who can’t face repercussions for their own actions.
That’s the thing though….Freedom of speech/press protects people from repercussions from the Federal Government not from a private body like the NBA or the Philadelphia 76ers.
Perhaps as a show of solidarity all teammates could decline answers from his paper until he is reprimanded?
Hayes didn’t say anything bad about Joel son or late brother…why would he get reprimanded? He mentioned how Joel son is a source of motivation and how he is named after the brother and provided the way he died… that is really nothing bad.
Embid was wrong but who disciplines the writer? Rhetorical question.
Wrong? I think most of us will agree if someone says things about someone’s dead family members getting shoved is a mild response.
Written words are much different than spoken. He’s part of the digital age, grow up homie.
Did you read what he wrote? He said Joel’s son is named after his brother who passed away in a auto accident…is that not factual. That is not talking bad about a person that died when he was a freshman.
He got off light.
Naw, for $1.9 million he should’ve got his money’s worth and punched in the face.
Yeah, when offended by written words, punching someone in the face is always the best option.
Yeah, I’m a strong advocate for losing control and assaulting people when offended.
There’s line you don’t cross and he crossed it, families are off limits. It’s not like this is the first time he’s provoked Embiid. Someone can be laid back as can be but if you keep poking them, eventually they’re going to retaliate.
The line is touching someone and he crossed it. No matter what is written about him he has to maintain his composure and not lay a hand on anyone fan/reporter etc…. If he wants to be in the NBA that’s the rule.
Jimmy butler did the same thing a couple of years ago and got 1 game…how is this light?
How do u suspend a guy who isn’t even playing? The sixers are a joke either way
The 76ers should just take him off the injury report for the next three games to get the suspension over with.
1-8 here we come!
The NBA suspended him.
Hayes should be banned from lockerooms for good
Yeah.
He wrote mean words. I think he should possibly be executed.
Mean words implies that he was within bounds. You can be mean about embiids conditioning, health, etc, but saying what Hayes said is not just being mean. It was unprofessional and unacceptable.
Agree, but physical violence is always going to be the losing option.
For sure. Not saying embiid shouldn’t have gotten his punishment, but don’t see why Hayes can’t also be held accountable.
This is all orchestrated by morey and Philly media. Give Embiid a controversial but indisputable suspension to buy non-injury time off. They are trying to save him for 2nd half of the season. This is just a smoke screen.
Interesting take. A sports writer should keep it about sports unless the family member is directly impacting their game (i.e Ball family). Just my two cents. You’re on point about the bigger picture.
Yeah, unless it was agreed upon beforehand. Hayes gets clicks. Embiid gets sympathy and less criticism while he continues to take more time off
Marcus Hayes is garbage
When you have no writing skills or knowledge of sports, you resort to tabloid-type journalism.
How long is Hayes suspended.
Where is the punishment for the reporter?
Moray and Brand should be defending their players not saying that his behavior was unacceptable… what a pair of clowns!?!?!
Silver is such a wimp. 3 games? Probably done in conjunction with the PHI FO so the latter could first put out a statement that Embid would probably play this week, then blame the league for him continuing to sit. At least make it a real 3 game suspension, i.e., the first 3 home games after he plays in 5 regular season games. But that my really be a punishment, so it was probably never considered.
Marvelous…
Hayes should be banned from every NBA locker room for this.
100% agree with u mr davey…
Embiid got off very lightly…
Can’t be physical with those who are the reason you get paid as much as you do…
The media are just members of the hype team… Paid to get people talking about basketball… And this, much like Stephen A Smith, gets people talking about basketball…
When there are 3 games left in the season, all writers better be on their best behavior for non playoff teams… what a light punishment and bad precedent
Sixers 1-5
Bucks 1-6
Two contenders with injury woes. And it’s happening again this year.
SIXERS should thank Adam Silver and company, 3 more games is 3 more load-management days for Embiid.
Where’s Podcast P at? Is he playing already?
There’s one thing that I haven’t seen in the dozens and dozens of articles and cments I’ve seen published and that’s this. Embid was the one who brought his family into this at the start of things when he originally said that he was wanting to be proud and blah blah blah blah blah. Hayes only picked up on Embids original statement and used it to reflect it back on him. And Hayes never said anything off colored or derogatory about any member of Embids family. Not his son and not his brother. The fact of the matter is Embid is soft and was soft and if you don’t want people mentioning your family members then you shouldn’t talk about them to begin with. Hayes only held up a mirror for Embid to look into it and Embid didn’t like what was looking back at him. Hayes did nothing wrong. He’s not just a reporter, he’s a journalist and there’s a big difference. Embid misses a lot of time and is on record as saying he doesn’t want to play back to backs. Well that’s a violation of NBA policy and he should have been fined for even making such a comment.
He loves time off…
When you give him days off, you’re not punishing him. He prefers to sit anyway!