NBA suspends Joel Embiid for three games after locker room altercation with Inquirer columnist

76ers center Joel Embiid has been suspended three games without pay by the NBA for his locker room altercation with Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, the league announced Tuesday.

The suspension will begin with the next regular-season game that Embiid is eligible and able to play, according to the NBA’s news release. The 2023 MVP has been sidelined for the first six games with a left knee condition, following meniscus surgery in February.

After Saturday’s Sixers loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Embiid yelled his disapproval that Hayes mentioned his late brother and son, both named Arthur, in an Oct. 23 column that criticized the All-Star center for missing the start of the season. After Hayes attempted to apologize, Embiid “reached out with his left hand and struck me on the right side of my neck with his open hand, and shoved me a step backward in the same motion,” Hayes said.

“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said in a release. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”

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In a statement, Inquirer editor and senior vice president Gabriel Escobar said, “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.”

The Sixers’ upcoming games are at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Sixers then host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night before back-to-back home games against the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers next Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

ESPN reported that Embiid will lose $1,063,778 in pay during the suspension.

Without Embiid, who arguably is the league’s most dominant player when healthy, the Sixers have gotten off to a disappointing 1-5 start. Fellow perennial All-Star Paul George, the team’s prized offseason acquisition, also missed the Sixers’ first five games before making his season debut Monday against the Phoenix Suns.