Joel Embiid Shoves Columnist Following Sixers' Loss

[RealGM Wiretap]

Joel Embiid was in a physical altercation with a columnist following the Philadelphia 76ers' loss on Saturday. Embiid reportedly shoved the columnist, but did not throw a punch.

Embiid reportedly took issue with a recent column that referenced his son and also his late brother.

Embiid has yet to appear in a game this season with the Sixers.

Via Shams Charania/ESPN

[eureca20]

I saw what Marcus Hayes wrote about Embiid and his family. That guy is a piece ****. I have zero sympathy for him. The only reason I wish Joel didn't shove him was because the douche will probably sue him.

[beefymajesto]

Got to be smarter. Regardless what he wrote 50 mil should help you turn a blind eye. Denounce the the guy if you need to but this is simply a stupid move from a stupid human. **** better hope little softy doesn't read this.

[Luv those Knicks]

I saw what Marcus Hayes wrote about Embiid and his family. That guy is a piece ****. I have zero sympathy for him. The only reason I wish Joel didn't shove him was because the douche will probably sue him.

I'm in no way an Embiid fan. I think the guy is a dirty player and a real jerk, but even I don't blame him for getting mad at the reporter over this one.

The reporter didn't say anything bad about Embiid's brother or son, but he did question Embiid's dedicating his success and passion to his brother and son, and that's not something a reporter should bring up in a negative column.

This is, I think, the exact quote and that's not cool. It's the wrong thing to say and the wrong way to say it.

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

I'm glad Embiid didn't hit him, it was just a shove and I don't think there will be an serious lawsuit, maybe a small out of court settlement, but if anyone remembers, (and it's not the same thing), but when Buzz Aldrin punched a moon landing denier for getting in his face, the courts sided with Aldrin. I'm not saying a judge will give Embiid a free pass if this goes to court, but there's enough extenuiating circumstance that I don't think it's a big deal.

I wonder how the NBA will come down on this. I'm sure the NBA doesn't want reporters writing about players dedication to their families and using that as part of a negative article, but they also don't want their players shoving reporters, so, probably a fine for Embiid, but their public statement will be interesting. If I was the NBA, I'd say something along the lines of "The reporter crossed the line, but players can't shove reporters so Joel will be fined bla bla dollars"

I wonder if the reporter might be banned from the Philly locker room too . . . probably not, but that wouldn't be completely crazy.

[beefman]

Got to be smarter. Regardless what he wrote 50 mil should help you turn a blind eye. Denounce the the guy if you need to but this is simply a stupid move from a stupid human. **** better hope little softy doesn't read this.

he gets paid 50 million to play basketball, not be insulted. i bet if i can into your work and started talking **** about your family, you would fight me regardless how much you made

[24istheLAW]

Unsurprising that the children on the internet thing this is in any way okay.

If Embiid disagrees with the journalist's portrayal of his character, he has legal avenues to pursue. Physical violence is not one of them.

[beefymajesto]

Got to be smarter. Regardless what he wrote 50 mil should help you turn a blind eye. Denounce the the guy if you need to but this is simply a stupid move from a stupid human. **** better hope little softy doesn't read this.

he gets paid 50 million to play basketball, not be insulted. i bet if i can into your work and started talking **** about your family, you would fight me regardless how much you made

Post as many articles about me as you want, I'll do it for less. Nothing even reasonable here. He gets paid to play in the public eye not in his bedroom and public criticism comes with the position buddy. He needs to grow up and keep it together.

[beefymajesto]

I saw what Marcus Hayes wrote about Embiid and his family. That guy is a piece ****. I have zero sympathy for him. The only reason I wish Joel didn't shove him was because the douche will probably sue him.

I'm in no way an Embiid fan. I think the guy is a dirty player and a real jerk, but even I don't blame him for getting mad at the reporter over this one.

Get mad sure but let's not throw a tantrum and lash out like a lil bitch baby.

[Luv those Knicks]

I saw what Marcus Hayes wrote about Embiid and his family. That guy is a piece ****. I have zero sympathy for him. The only reason I wish Joel didn't shove him was because the douche will probably sue him.

I'm in no way an Embiid fan. I think the guy is a dirty player and a real jerk, but even I don't blame him for getting mad at the reporter over this one.

Get mad sure but let's not throw a tantrum and lash out like a lil bitch baby.

Shoving somebody is virtually never the right response unless there's some kind of physical precedent from the other party first. That's why Buzz Aldrin faced no legal penalty for his punch.

I have no problem at all, with lots of yelling in this situation, and, how did you put it "throwing a tantrum", as long as it's just words. It would have been better if Embiid had used just words. But I'm 100% behind him on getting angry and yelling at the reporter. The shove, and on this we agree I think, is where it gets dicey and problematic.

And I repeat. Knicks fan. Embiid is one of the players in the NBA who I like the least.

[pushfloater]

His punishment is going to be extremely interesting. More of them not playing? Lol Dude crossed the line though.. It’s not that serious

[HaydukesRedux]

So people who disagree with you are unsurprising children, got it. I don't know a thing about what happened with Embid, but I do know people can disagree with me without my feeling the need to muster a snide, keyboard response.

Unsurprising that the children on the internet thing this is in any way okay.

If Embiid disagrees with the journalist's portrayal of his character, he has legal avenues to pursue. Physical violence is not one of them.

[Pickled Prunes]

I'm in no way an Embiid fan. I think the guy is a dirty player and a real jerk, but even I don't blame him for getting mad at the reporter over this one.

Get mad sure but let's not throw a tantrum and lash out like a lil bitch baby.

Shoving somebody is virtually never the right response unless there's some kind of physical precedent from the other party first. That's why Buzz Aldrin faced no legal penalty for his punch.

I have no problem at all, with lots of yelling in this situation, and, how did you put it "throwing a tantrum", as long as it's just words. It would have been better if Embiid had used just words. But I'm 100% behind him on getting angry and yelling at the reporter. The shove, and on this we agree I think, is where it gets dicey and problematic.

And I repeat. Knicks fan. Embiid is one of the players in the NBA who I like the least.

Embiid has a bigger platform than any individual in the media. He has access to all the media. He can do a sit down interview with the writer of his choice; He can show up on Inside the NBA or Sports Center. He has every opportunity to change the narrative of this story from being about his family to being about the writer that he feels overstepped.

That said, writers have publishers and editors. One man didn't publish this story; If this story crossed a line, the line was crossed by several people working in conjunction.

[Luv those Knicks]

Embiid has a bigger platform than any individual in the media. He has access to all the media. He can do a sit down interview with the writer of his choice; He can show up on Inside the NBA or Sports Center. He has every opportunity to change the narrative of this story from being about his family to being about the writer that he feels overstepped.

That said, writers have publishers and editors. One man didn't publish this story; If this story crossed a line, the line was crossed by several people working in conjunction.

With all due respect, telling a new story or expressing objection to a prior story, even with a bigger platform, doesn't undo or erase from memory the prior story. That's simply not how it works. And it also doesn't address the anger over the way the original story was phrased.

As for the story crossing the line being the fault of several people, only one signed his name to it, but OK. Several people crossed the line. And I'm not the only person saying the story crossed the line. It was the wrong thing to write. There were better ways to make that point.

[beefman]

Got to be smarter. Regardless what he wrote 50 mil should help you turn a blind eye. Denounce the the guy if you need to but this is simply a stupid move from a stupid human. **** better hope little softy doesn't read this.

he gets paid 50 million to play basketball, not be insulted. i bet if i can into your work and started talking **** about your family, you would fight me regardless how much you made

Post as many articles about me as you want, I'll do it for less. Nothing even reasonable here. He gets paid to play in the public eye not in his bedroom and public criticism comes with the position buddy. He needs to grow up and keep it together.

you may think that, but i doubt it is true. and it doesn't come with the position. you don't understand professional sports

[Pickled Prunes]

Embiid has a bigger platform than any individual in the media. He has access to all the media. He can do a sit down interview with the writer of his choice; He can show up on Inside the NBA or Sports Center. He has every opportunity to change the narrative of this story from being about his family to being about the writer that he feels overstepped.

That said, writers have publishers and editors. One man didn't publish this story; If this story crossed a line, the line was crossed by several people working in conjunction.

With all due respect, telling a new story or expressing objection to a prior story, even with a bigger platform, doesn't undo or erase from memory the prior story. That's simply not how it works. And it also doesn't address the anger over the way the original story was phrased.

As for the story crossing the line being the fault of several people, only one signed his name to it, but OK. Several people crossed the line. And I'm not the only person saying the story crossed the line. It was the wrong thing to write. There were better ways to make that point.

Everything you said is true. But instigating a physical altercation doesn't solve anything either. If anything it will amplify Embiid's frustration. With a few words and a little decorum Embiid could have had this guy ostracized from the NBA.

How many more people read the article specifically because of the incident? Embiid has pushed this story into a much brighter spotlight. There were infinitely better ways for Embiid to make his point.

[Luv those Knicks]

Everything you said is true. But instigating a physical altercation doesn't solve anything either. If anything it will amplify Embiid's frustration. With a few words and a little decorum Embiid could have had this guy ostracized from the NBA.

How many more people read the article specifically because of the incident? Embiid has pushed this story into a much brighter spotlight. There were infinitely better ways for Embiid to make his point.

On this, I agree with everything you said. 100%. Hek, 110%. All true.

There's a word for this, called the Streisand Effect.

But, I don't think the spotlight is the only issue. Basically everybody who follows the NBA knows that Embiid hasn't played yet this year and that he only played 39 games last year. That's not news.

Not everybody knew about Embiid's brother who died and naming his son after that brother and dedicating his career to them, and that's fine. How many players dedications to someone can you name off the top of your head?

The reporter wrote a story saying Embiid should play if he's going to dedicate his career to his son and brother and . . . I still say that wasn't a good thing to say.

So, Embiid shoves the reporter and yells at him, but this isn't a secret Embiid wants to keep. It was a piece of writing that pissed him off. Now everyone knows the story of his brother and son, but he wasn't trying to keep that a secret. Everyone knows he shoved a reporter, which he shouldn't have done, but I don't think he minds that getting out either.

EMbiid wasn't trying to draw attention away from his brother and son. He was sending a message that if you talk about them, He's going to get angry, and you won't like him when he's angry. And I think he's OK with that. I think he perhaps even wanted to draw attention towards the fact, that, as far as he's concerned, this is off limits from criticism and reporters, be warned.

So, he might not care if more people read the reporters article, so long as most of them know that he shoved the reporter for writing it. (just my guess)

- - -


And now there's an open debate on, what should or shouldn't reporters call into question, like what a player has dedicated their career to and there are people who've taken Embiid's side (not for the shove, but understanding why he got angry), hek, even me, and I'm an Embiid hating Knicks fan.

So I would guess, that personally, Embiid has no regrets. He was already kind of in conflict with fans on not playing and him saying "I've given Philadelphia a lot" -which I don't think he should have said that. I think that was arrogant, but that's another story.

I would never put up to question what a player has dedicated their career too. I'll say a ton of mean things about a player I don't like, but I would never use their dedication in any way against them.

So - - he shouldn't have done the shove - we agree on that. I don't think he regrets the shove, though I'm only guessing.

And where the NBA comes down on this, and if they say anything about the reporter crossing the line will be interesting to see, as it's free speech, but it was still, I think, the wrong thing for the reporter to call into question. And I don't think the NBA wants reporters writing stories like that.

Just my 2 cents.

The Strisand effect is a great story, but I don't think it applies here.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67299/how-barbra-streisand-inspired-streisand-effect

[Pickled Prunes]

Everything you said is true. But instigating a physical altercation doesn't solve anything either. If anything it will amplify Embiid's frustration. With a few words and a little decorum Embiid could have had this guy ostracized from the NBA.

How many more people read the article specifically because of the incident? Embiid has pushed this story into a much brighter spotlight. There were infinitely better ways for Embiid to make his point.

On this, I agree with everything you said. 100%. Hek, 110%. All true.

There's a word for this, called the Streisand Effect.

But, I don't think the spotlight is the only issue. Basically everybody who follows the NBA knows that Embiid hasn't played yet this year and that he only played 39 games last year. That's not news.

Not everybody knew about Embiid's brother who died and naming his son after that brother and dedicating his career to them, and that's fine. How many players dedications to someone can you name off the top of your head?

The reporter wrote a story saying Embiid should play if he's going to dedicate his career to his son and brother and . . . I still say that wasn't a good thing to say.

So, Embiid shoves the reporter and yells at him, but this isn't a secret Embiid wants to keep. It was a piece of writing that pissed him off. Now everyone knows the story of his brother and son, but he wasn't trying to keep that a secret. Everyone knows he shoved a reporter, which he shouldn't have done, but I don't think he minds that getting out either.

EMbiid wasn't trying to draw attention away from his brother and son. He was sending a message that if you talk about them, He's going to get angry, and you won't like him when he's angry. And I think he's OK with that. I think he perhaps even wanted to draw attention towards the fact, that, as far as he's concerned, this is off limits from criticism and reporters, be warned.

So, he might not care if more people read the reporters article, so long as most of them know that he shoved the reporter for writing it. (just my guess)

- - -


And now there's an open debate on, what should or shouldn't reporters call into question, like what a player has dedicated their career to and there are people who've taken Embiid's side (not for the shove, but understanding why he got angry), hek, even me, and I'm an Embiid hating Knicks fan.

So I would guess, that personally, Embiid has no regrets. He was already kind of in conflict with fans on not playing and him saying "I've given Philadelphia a lot" -which I don't think he should have said that. I think that was arrogant, but that's another story.

I would never put up to question what a player has dedicated their career too. I'll say a ton of mean things about a player I don't like, but I would never use their dedication in any way against them.

So - - he shouldn't have done the shove - we agree on that. I don't think he regrets the shove, though I'm only guessing.

And where the NBA comes down on this, and if they say anything about the reporter crossing the line will be interesting to see, as it's free speech, but it was still, I think, the wrong thing for the reporter to call into question. And I don't think the NBA wants reporters writing stories like that.

Just my 2 cents.

The Strisand effect is a great story, but I don't think it applies here.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67299/how-barbra-streisand-inspired-streisand-effect

The writer (Marcus Hayes) admitted that he crossed the line and edited the mentions out of the story prior to the altercation. After apologizing, that is all he can do.

I agree that it was in poor taste... but it wasn't egregious either. Hayes mentioned Embiid's brother and son but he didn't disrespect them. All the disrespect was aimed directly at Embiid. If we are being 100% honest, I think Embiid was angry about the tone of the article and the disrespect towards him, more so than the mention of his family.

I also don't think Embiid thought as deeply about it as you suggest. I know that the physical altercation and the threats of future altercations won't stop media members from writing the stories they want to write. A quiet word to the PHI front office could have had Hayes' credentials pulled. Instead, Embiid's shove pushed a local shock jock into the National spotlight... right where he wants to be. Not well thought out.

The GOAT (Greatest of all Talk) Podcast released a free preview on this subject. Interesting perspective from two writers.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/preview-a-locker-room-fracas-in-philadelphia/id1566663608?i=1000675755749