Report: Joel Embiid gets in confrontation with reporter over recent column

Report: Joel Embiid gets in confrontation with reporter over recent column

Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid got into a confrontation with a columnist over a recent column citing Embiid’s late brother and son, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was among the first to report Saturday evening.

This came shortly after Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Embiid “assaulted a reporter” in the locker room, originally citing it was a punch. However, he later clarified that it was a shove and not a punch, likely suggesting Pompey had heard this from a third party and hadn’t seen the incident himself.

Regardless, the columnist involved was allegedly Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Here was an excerpt from Hayes in a recent column about Embiid’s family.

According to NBC Philadelphia, Embiid confronted Hayes, stating this:

“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.”

The biggest question I have is: Where are the editors? Who let this through? Bringing family into the question should never be acceptable, let alone use it to justify slamming a player for not “showing up for work.”

The league should take serious action into this because if players get off lightly for shoving reporters, it could have serious ramifications. That said, what Embiid did was justified; one of the most important things about being a journalist is being held accountable for anything and everything one publishes. It’s the same for anyone in any profession–accountability is important. Embiid checked him at the line; you can criticize his game, but not his family, especially dead relatives or kids. Let’s hope lessons were learned here.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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