Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been suspended three games by the NBA for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, the league announced Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred in Philadelphia's locker room after Saturday's game between the 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies, a 124-107 Grizzlies victory that Embiid did not participate in. The altercation stemmed from a column published in October by the Inquirer.
That column, written by Hayes, criticized Embiid for missing games, but mentioned both Embiid's brother Arthur, who died in a 2014 car accident, and Embiid's young son, who shares Arthur's name. The story has since been edited to remove mentions of either relative.
"Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA," league Executive Vice President Joe Dumars said in an NBA 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 has not played yet this season due to what the team has called "left knee management." The NBA noted that Embiid's suspension "will commence with the next NBA regular season game for which he is eligible and able to play." It's unclear exactly when that will be, but a report earlier on Tuesday indicated that Embiid was potentially gearing up for his season debut on Wednesday against the Clippers in L.A.
If the NBA deems Embiid "able to play" on Wednesday and starts the suspension, Embiid could then return to the floor on Nov. 12 against the New York Knicks in an NBA Cup game -- the 76ers' 10th game of the season.
After last Friday's practice, Embiid brought up Hayes' column as he addressed reporters.
"Everybody has been on the same page," Embiid said of the team's plan for him to both recover from a current knee injury and manage his health throughout the season. "If your body doesn't react well, and if your body tells you one thing [sit out]. I've done it. From what I can tell you, I've broken my face twice; I came back early with the risk of losing my vision. I have broken fingers. I still came back. When I see people say, 'He doesn't want to play,' I've done way too much for this city, putting myself at risk, for people to be saying that."
The situation escalated after Saturday's game, when Embiid saw Hayes in the locker room. "The next time you bring up my dead brother and my son again, you are going to see what I'm going to do to you and I'm going to have to ... live with the consequences," Embiid said to Hayes, according to the Associated Press. Hayes reportedly offered an apology that Embiid did not accept. Embiid later said that he doesn't care what reporters say, to which Hayes reportedly responded "but you do." Soon after, Embiid pushed Hayes on the shoulder, according to reporters in the room. The two were separated by team PR staffers from there.
This is the second suspension of Embiid's career. In 2019, he and Karl-Anthony Towns were both suspended two games after a fight between the two when Towns was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 76ers are 1-5 through their first five games, and free-agent addition Paul George just made his season debut in a Monday night loss to the Suns after hurting his knee in the preseason.