NBA suspends Joel Embiid 3 games for pushing Philadelphia columnist

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NBA suspends Joel Embiid 3 games for pushing Philadelphia columnist

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been suspended by the NBA for three games without pay for pushing a reporter during an altercation in the Sixers’ locker room Saturday night, the league announced Tuesday.

“Mutual respect is critical to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president and chief basketball operations officer, said in a statement. “While we understand that Joel was offended by the personal nature of the reporter’s original version of the column, interactions on both sides must remain professional and never become physical.”

Embiid’s suspension takes effect on Wednesday when the 76ers take on the LA Clippers. He is eligible to return for a Nov. 12 home game against the New York Knicks, the Sixers’ first NBA Cup game of the season. (They play at the Lakers on Friday and at home against Charlotte on Sunday.)

The incident between Embiid and Marcus Hayes, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer who has repeatedly criticized the Sixers center for missing games, occurred after the Sixers’ 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Embiid objected to one Hayes column, written on October 23which originally contained references to Embiid’s son and brother, Arthur, who died in a car accident in 2014 at the age of 13. Embiid’s 4-year-old son is named Arthur, after his brother. (These references have since been removed from the piece).

Hayes did not physically respond to Embiid’s push, a team source said, and an NBA spokesman said Saturday that the league was investigating the incident.

“When I see people saying, ‘He doesn’t want to play,’ … I’ve done way too much for this city, putting myself in danger for people to say that. So I really think it’s b…,” Embiid told reporters on Friday, a day before the incident with Hayes. “…I’ve done way too much to let this damn city be treated like this.”

Embiid has a long history of injuries, including orbital fractures, ankle problems, a torn thumb ligament and a variety of knee problems, including a torn meniscus. He hasn’t played this season due to what the Sixers call “left knee injury management.” Before the season started, the Sixers made public comments about their plans to rest Embiid for consecutive games to keep him healthy for the postseason. In his eight-year career, the 30-year-old center has never played more than 68 games in a regular season and averaged 54 games per season.

Embiid’s court appearance in Philadelphia for the nationally televised season opener on October 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks prompted the NBA to launch an investigation. The league fined the Sixers organization $100,000 on October 29 for “inconsistent” statements regarding Embiid’s health status.

If The Athletics According to Tuesday, the Sixers had hoped Embiid would be ready for his regular-season debut once Wednesday’s game against the LA Clippers took place. He recently began practicing in five-on-five action, trained extensively for Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns and was scheduled to participate in individual workouts Tuesday in Los Angeles that would have paved the way for what would come next. Instead, with the Sixers already reeling, they’ll have to wait even longer for their former MVP to get back on board.

The Sixers are ranked 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 1-5 record. With Embiid out, their top offseason acquisition, nine-time All-Star Paul George, missed the first five games of the season with a left knee bone contusion suffered in a preseason game on October 14. He returned Monday against Phoenix.