The Philadelphia 76ers lost their fourth game of the season last night. But it wasn’t the 107-124 defeat that grabbed headlines after the game, but Joel Embiid’s heated altercation with a reporter. The 2023 NBA MVP nearly came to blows with a columnist from ‘The Philadelphia Inquirer’ over the latter’s reference to one of the star center’s family members.
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Embiid reportedly confronted and shoved Marcus Hayes at Wells Fargo Center last night. Shams Charania and others reported on the incident.
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Hayes recently wrote an opinion piece on Embiid’s availability over the past few seasons. He was highly critical of the Cameroonian-American center, but his reference to Joel’s deceased brother crossed the line and prompted the wrath of the 7-footer.
Arthur Embiid, the Sixers star’s younger brother, lost his life in a fatal car crash during Joel’s first season in the NBA. Six years after his untimely demise, Joel honored his late brother by naming his son Arthur. The loss of his brother was a highly painful moment in Embiid’s life and Hayes crudely referenced it in the lede to his column.
“He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother…Well, in order to be great at your job, you first have to show up for work,” Hayes wrote. He would later recant that section of the column and apologize. But clearly, that didn’t do much to pacify the Sixers superstar.
Kyle Neubeck, a reporter for PHLY Sports, was in attendance at Wells Fargo when Embiid confronted Marcus Hayes. “The second that Joel realized he [Marcus] was there, got into a verbal back-and-forth…90 seconds to two minutes into this back-and-forth, Joel shoves him,” Neubeck shared.
Embiid’s argument with Hayes was not over the criticism he directed at the center, but at his usage of a deeply personal incident in the column. Joel reportedly told the writer, “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.”
“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,” @KyleNeubeck describes Joel Embiid altercation with journalist https://t.co/CIorWx3NV7 pic.twitter.com/dIsDDaULZz
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 3, 2024
NBC’s John Clark also shared some quotes from the altercation between Embiid and Hayes. The Sixers’ #21 allegedly threatened the columnist, saying if he ever mentions his family again, Embiid would “live with the consequences” of what he does to Hayes.
Coming from a near-300-lb 7-footer, that is certainly a scary statement. But his family that makes Embiid defensive. The loss of his teenage brother has inspired much of Joel’s philanthropic work, as he has taken tangible steps to ensure that Arthur Embiid lives on through his work.
In 2022, the seven-time All-Star announced the ‘In Memory of Arthur’ initiative, pledging $1 million to non-profits in the area. He has also launched the ‘Arthur Embiid & Angels Foundation’ to provide resources to underserved minors in his home country, Cameroon.
Embiid now finds himself being investigated by the NBA for the second time this season. The league is yet to announce whether the two-time scoring champion will face any disciplinary measures for his confrontation with Hayes. But fans would hope the situation doesn’t escalate any further.
