Joel Embiid under NBA investigation after reported shove of columnist after Sixers game

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid looks over the court after a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The NBA is investigating reports that Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid shoved a reporter after Saturday’s game, the league announced to ESPN’s Shams Charania:

“We are aware of reports of an incident in the Sixers locker room this evening and are commencing an investigation.”

Word broke about an altercation earlier Saturday when Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Embiid had assaulted a reporter. There was some initial confusion about whether Embiid punched the reporter due to a now-deleted tweet by Pompey, but Charania later reported it was a shove, not a punch.

Kyle Neubeck of PHLY later provided a recap on his company’s postgame show, confirming the reporter involved was Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“The second that Joel realized he was there, got into a verbal back-and-forth. Obviously, we can’t repeat many of the words that were said on this show. The basic gist of it was basically, ‘You can say I suck, you can say whatever you want about me as a player. Don’t ever put my dead brother’s name in your mouth. Don’t talk about my family. Don’t bring them into this. You want to talk to me like a man and talk to me about basketball, that’s different, but if you ever talk about my family again, we’re gonna have real problems.’

“They go kinda back-and-forth and at some point, let’s say 90 seconds to two minutes into this back-and-forth, Joel shoves him. Team security steps in. Players kind of surround the situation and everyone kinda dispersed.”

At issue is a recent column by Hayes about Embiid’s injury issues, which received widespread criticism for referencing Embiid’s son and late brother. The column was written in reaction to Embiid not being ready for the season, with the Sixers citing a left knee issue. The Sixers were later fined $100,000 for their public statements about Embiid’s health.

The lede of Hayes’ column:

“Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/joel-embiid-under-nba-investigation-after-reported-shove-of-columnist-after-sixers-game-033335393.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-03 03:33:00

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