Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Marcus Hayes is in the limelight for the wrong reasons. He got into an altercation with 76ers star Joel Embiid, who allegedly shoved the reporter after taking exception to a column he wrote about the center.
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According to the Associated Press, Embiid confronted Hayes in the 76ers locker room on Saturday night for bringing up his late brother and son in a story about absence in Philadelphia’s first five games of the campaign. The former MVP reportedly threatened the columnist. A member of the 76ers public relations staff stepped in and separated the two before the situation escalated further.
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
Hayes began his career as a beat writer for Syracuse University, where he covered multiple sports. In 1996, he landed a job with the Philadelphia Daily News as a beat writer for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Phillies. Since 2010, he has been a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, covering the Phillies, Eagles, and the 76ers.
What did Marcus Hayes write about Joel Embiid?
On November 2nd, Hayes posted an opinion piece titled, “Sixers absentee Joel Embiid fibs in his own defense and has a gold-medal deflection.” In it, he questioned if Embiid deserves a contract that pays him over $50 million and called him out for missing the first five games of the season despite having the whole offseason to recover from his knee surgeries.
Hayes criticized Embiid for participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. But what angered the center the most was Hayes’ comments about his late brother Arthur Embiid and his son. Hayes wrote,
“Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er. Well, in order to be great at your job, you first have to show up for work. Embiid has been great at just the opposite.”
According to the Associated Press, Embiid referred to these comments during his confrontation with Hayes and told him,
“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.”
Hayes apologized but Embiid shunned him away and said, “That’s not the f*cking first time,” before shoving him. The columnist edited out the comments about his son and deceased brother from his column but the damage has already been done.
The NBA is launching an investigation into the whole matter and it remains to be seen whether the league fines or suspends the superstar for losing his cool.
