Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is under investigation for his confrontation with Marcus Hayes, which saw the one-time NBA MVP reportedly putting his hands on the Philadelphia Inquirer reporter’s neck and collarbone area.
While it’s hard to blame Embiid for getting angry at Hayes since the veteran columnist referenced the former’s late brother and son for his critique piece, the Philadelphia Inquirer voiced their disapproval of the Philadelphia 76ers star’s “untenable” actions.
“Marcus is an experienced and accomplished columnist who offers sharp and illuminating commentary grounded in his observations. You are free to disagree with what he says, but a physical assault is unwarranted and untenable and we are taking this matter very seriously,” Philadelphia Inquirer editor and senior vice president Gabriel Escobar said in a statement, per Gina Mizell.
Escobar added that the media outlet wanted to “open to facilitating a clearing of the air” between Joel Embiid and Marcus Hayes before the Philadelphia 76ers went on a three-game road trip at the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse broke his silence on Joel Embiid’s situation
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse opened up about Joel Embiid and mentioned that his main concern is his star’s well-being.
“As always, I asked how he was feeling, first of all, and tried to get him locked into what we’re doing,” Nurse said about Embiid via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I’m concerned about getting him on the floor, making sure he understands who he’s playing with, what they are doing, what all that stuff looks like. We’ve been able to get him into more of that work today. Yeah, I think playing will help him. Yeah, I think it will help him get focused,” he added.
To Nurse’s point, the Philadelphia 76ers badly need Embiid and his production back because they only have one win to show so far this season.
