Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid gets 3-game suspension for shoving reporter

NEW YORK — Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid has been suspended for three games without pay for shoving a member of the media, the National Basketball Association (NBA) said on Nov 5.

The locker room incident occurred after the 76ers' Nov 2 game when oft-injured Embiid, who has not played this season due to what the 76ers have called left knee management, confronted and shoved a Philadelphia newspaper columnist.

Embiid took issue with a column the journalist wrote which questioned the seven-time NBA All-Star and former league MVP's effort to stay in shape and also mentioned the player's son and late brother.

"Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA," Joe Dumars, the NBA's executive vice-president, said in a press statement.

"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."

Embiid's suspension will commence with the next NBA regular season game for which he is eligible and able to play.

Earlier this season the NBA fined the 76ers US$100,000 (S$131,300) for "inconsistent" comments about the health status of Embiid, who won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The NBA also said an investigation confirmed that Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and became a United States citizen in 2022, has been unable to play so far this season due to a knee condition and did not violate the league's player participation policy.

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