While he continues to treat his knee and has still not returned to action at the start of the season, Joel Embiid has just been suspended by the NBA after his altercation with a Philadelphia journalist a few days ago .
The news was first reported by InsiderESPN Shams Charania, then confirmed by the League via a press release.
Suspension of three games therefore for Embiid, which the NBA justified as follows:
“Mutual respect is essential in the relationship between players and the media in the NBA. While we understand that Joel was hurt by the personal nature of the journalist’s original version of the article, interactions must remain professional and can never escalate into a physical altercation.” – Joe Dumars, NBA vice president of basketball operations
Joel Embiid was suspended 3 games by the NBA following his altercation with a reporter last week. pic.twitter.com/4TjY631gRQ
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) November 5, 2024
As a reminder, after the match between Philadelphia and Memphis last weekend, Joel Embiid attacked journalist Marcus Hayes, who had the bad idea of mentioning in his article Joel’s brother – Arthur, who died in 2014 in a car accident – as well as his son who bears the same name (Arthur). A mention that went down very badly in Embiid’s eyes because it was used as a way to criticize the 2023 MVP for his number of missed matches. Joel shoved the reporter during an interaction in the Sixers locker room.
Absent since the start of the season because of his left knee injury, Joel Embiid therefore sees his return delayed a little further with this three-game suspension. As Bobby Marks points outESPNthe suspension will start from the moment Joel is considered operational to play, and therefore does not necessarily correspond to Philly’s next three games.
However, we learned this Tuesday – before the suspension – that Embiid could potentially return on Wednesday against the Clippers. There is therefore a chance that the superstar pivot of the Sixers will return in four games, which brings us to the meeting against the Knicks next Tuesday.
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Text source: Shams Charania / ESPN
