On Saturday, after the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 124-107, midfielder Joel Embiid shoved Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Marcus Hayes after an altercation in the storage room. The two were temporarily separated before Embiid left the structure, but the incident is already under investigation by the NBA.
For now, there is no simple option to wait for what kind of discipline Embiid might face. There is simply no precedent to fall back on. Players and journalists certainly argue, but such disputes do not have a history of becoming physical. For the league to look at the fallout from Embiid and Hayes’ disagreement, let’s look at what happened, what we know, and what we can expect from here.
What resulted in the disagreement between Embiid and Hayes?
Before the 2024-25 season began, Embiid told ESPN that he was likely executed playing back-to-back games. “If I had to guess,” Embiid said, “I probably would never play back-to-back games the rest of my career.” Up to that point, he had no longer played in a preseason tournament, and eventually neglected the entire preseason. He has yet to appear for the 76ers this season.
Based on Embiid’s absence, Hayes wrote an article for the Inquirer on October 23 titled “Joel Embiid Disrespects the Sixers, the Game, Their Bigs and Himself. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley Are Right to Criticize Him “. Embiid has faced complaints about games he has neglected due to trauma for almost his entire career from both the Philadelphia media and the basketball world at large. Alternatively, this story was once impressive for mentioning Embiid’s people. Although it has since been edited, this is how the story began when it was first published:
“Joel Embiid constantly points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the main turning point in his basketball career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy to the boy named after his little brother, who died tragically in a car accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er,” Hayes wrote.
“Well, to be excellent at your job, you first have to show up for work. Embiid has been excellent at just the opposite. Now, in his 11th season, he has been consistently in poor condition. This poor condition apparently seems like we’ve delayed his debut. this season. “Embiid will not play in Wednesday’s opener or the next two games.”
The story caused a bit of a stir in the publication, but since Embiid has been injured in the past, there was no need for him to speak to the media immediately. On Friday, November 1, he addressed reporters for the first time since it was published and recast Hayes’ story.
“Everyone’s been on the same page,” Embiid said of the team’s trauma management and return-to-play plan for him. “If your body doesn’t react well, and if your body tells you one thing (sit), 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 I broke my fingers. Still, I came back. When I see people saying they don’t want to play, I’ve done too much for this city, putting myself at risk of people saying that.”
Hayes did not attend Friday’s request. Alternatively, he attended Saturday’s tournament between the 76ers and Grizzlies.
What happened within the time?
The most evocative firsthand account of the incident came from Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
“Let’s go to the locker room,” Neubeck began. “Joel is sitting there. Marcus Hayes, who everyone knows was on Joel’s radar this week, took a long shot at him yesterday, Marcus was present in the locker room, and by the time Joel realized that was there, a verbal back and forth went in. Obviously we can’t repeat many of the words that were said on this show. The basic gist was ‘you can say I suck, you can say whatever you want about me as a player, no I never put a.’ my dead The name of your brother 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 to me about my family again, we’re going to have real problems. and they come, and at some point, say between 90 seconds and two minutes of this back and forth, Joel pushes him away. The players surround the situation and everyone disperses.
Future reports would fill in the blanks on what, in particular, was said. Most notably, Embiid warned Hayes not to talk about his people again. “The next time you mention my dead brother and my son again, you’ll see what I’m going to do to you and I’ll have to…live with the consequences,” Embiid reportedly declared.
At one point, Hayes apologized, but Embiid rebuffed her. “That’s not the first time,” said the Sixers megastar. Embiid would then say that it no longer helps what journalists say. Hayes responded “but you do.” At that point, Embiid reportedly raised the tone and the push was not long in coming. The two were separated from there. Staff security asked reporters not to record what happened between them, but Embiid claimed it didn’t help. “They can do whatever they want,” Embiid said. “I don’t give a shit.”
What can we expect from a possible postponement?
There’s no cheap option to hoping for what kind of self-discipline Embiid might face for this. Although disagreements between players and journalists are common, there is simply no known precedent for such a dispute to become physical in the NBA. Traditionally, the league takes any player-on-nonplayer violence that occurs at an NBA venue very seriously, it’s just that the nonplayer in question has never been a reporter.
There were several incidents between players and fans that resulted in suspensions, most notably Ron Artest’s season-long suspension after the Malice on the Palace brawl. Most recently, Patrick Beverley was suspended four games at the end of the season for throwing a ball at fans and an irrelevant interaction with ESPN producer Malinda Adams. On the other hand, his interaction with Adams was not physical. He simply refused to allow her to ask him a question because he didn’t subscribe to his podcast.
There have also been physical disputes between players and coaches. In 1997, Latrell Sprewell was suspended for choking director PJ Carlesimo, and in 2018, JR Smith was suspended for one tournament for throwing soup at master worker Damon Jones. Most recently, Matt Barnes earned a two-game reprieve in 2015 when he confronted then-York Knicks coach Derek Fisher at the home of his ex-wife, Gloria Govin. Barnes played for the Grizzlies in the past, but he was in Los Angeles in the past and was given the option by his son, who told him Fisher was in the house with Govan. There was a physical altercation but denial charges were filed.
There were physical incidents between journalists and outfielders in professional sports, but not in basketball, which America recently covered in greater quality in 2019. In 1978, between stints as manager of the unused York Yankees, Billy Martin punched reporter Ray Hagar in Reindeer. Snowfall. In 1979, Boston Globe reporter Will McDonough punched unused England Patriots defenseman Raymond Clayborn twice and then was noticeably pushed by Clayborn. In 1993, Kansas Town Royals supervisor Hal McRae threw an object believed to be a tape recorder at journalist Alan Eskew. In 1994, then-NFL quarterback Jim Everett threw a table at Jim Rome during a televised interview and proceeded to push him until he was sick. None of those incidents included suspensions. Former Mets pitcher Jason Vargas was fined once in 2019 for threatening a journalist.
Alternatively, and without using analogies similar to what happened between Embiid and Hayes, there is no way to expect how exactly the league will respond. For now, the investigation is ongoing.
