Joel Embiid on Saturday reportedly got into an altercation with a reporter following the Philadelphia 76ers’ 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
Embiid “took issue” with a column the reporter wrote earlier this season that mentioned the Sixers star’s late brother, Arthur Embiid. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Joel “shoved” the reporter but no punches were thrown.
Arthur Embiid died in a car accident in 2014, which was also the year Philadelphia selected Joel Embiid with the 3rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
76ers’ Joel Embiid got in an altercation with a columnist following tonight’s game in Philadelphia. Embiid took issue with a recent column that referenced his late brother and son, and Embiid shoved the columnist. No punch.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 3, 2024
The reporter shoved by Embiid is believed to be Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Hayes had previously received widespread criticism for a lede he used in an article that referenced both Joel’s son and late brother. The article criticized Joel Embiid for his “poor conditioning.”
The reporter brought up his dead brother. 100% deserved imo pic.twitter.com/tX5TE66qmp
— IcyVert (@IcyVert) November 3, 2024
The NBA has since released a statement on Embiid’s altercation with the reporter.
“We are aware of reports of an incident in the Sixers locker room this evening and are commencing an investigation,” an NBA spokesperson said.
Embiid has yet to play this season due to a lingering knee injury.
The NBA investigated the 76ers for Embiid’s murky injury status and ended up hitting the team with a massive fine.
