Joel Embiid and when criticism of athletes goes too far

It doesn’t seem like it’s been nearly three years since one of Philadelphia’s favorite sons slapped the taste out of Chris Rock’s mouth. I remember the initial outrage and how folks insisted it would be the end of Will Smith’s career. In a fun twist of irony, it was a movie franchise entitled “Bad Boys” that returned Smith to prominence and reminded folks of his greatness.

I couldn’t help but think of The Slap when Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid shoved columnist Marcus Hayes after the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist took a cheap shot in one of his commentaries. It was a banner week for Philly sports icons, as former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce spiked a heckler’s phone on Penn State’s campus after the “fan” used a homophobic slur against his brother. Kelce apologized, saying that he met “hate with hate.” But isn’t that the American way?

The incidents were a reminder of how comfortable society is in going out of bounds to attack athletes, but most people only identify with those conflicts when they become physical, such as Kelce’s encounter, or Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts versus a couple of thugs in Yankees apparel during the World Series. But what happens when those attacks involve the media?

The NBA’s investigation of the incident yielded a three-game suspension for Embiid. “Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive VP of basketball operations, said in a 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.”

With respect to Dumars, professionalism and mutual appreciation were lacking long before Embiid lost his cool. From my viewpoint, The Shove wasn’t as harmful as this excerpt from Hayes’ shortsighted and insensitive column:

Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his basketball career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically died in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er. 

Well, in order to be great at your job, you first have to show up for work. Embiid has been great at just the opposite.

Those lines have since been deleted from Hayes’ column, but the damage has been done, not just from those specific words, but in a general sense. Russell Westbrook’s response to a racist fan back in 2019 should have been met with not just swift rebuke, but actionable steps to prevent such occurrences from happening again. Because we treat athletes as if they’re part of entertainment, and not human beings, we allow sideshow incidents because we think they’re just part of the circus. 

That sense of policy among professional leagues might be more prevalent if certain media members didn’t fuel the fire with their own antics. People even go so far as to call it “journalism,” even though our industry isn’t just about reporting, nor the final product. It’s about how we engage with the community, whether we choose to use words to build up or to tear down.

It was difficult for me to be enraged by The Slap or The Shove because I understand America. Violence is irrevocably woven into our DNA, both in terms of poverty and policy. The nastiness we allow in our divisive and hyperpolarized politics – with little room for decorum, let alone democracy – has driven this country to madness. What does a singular slap or shove mean in a world where police brutality endures? When violence against women, both domestically and in healthcare, endures?

That might be apples and oranges to folks who want to separate politics and sports, but there’s always been mutuality between the two. It’s why LeBron James has to shut up and dribble, while San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa’s choice of headwear and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s political kicks, however wide right, are celebrated. Further, that old saying about “sticks and stones” in relation to words has always been intellectually dishonest. Words do hurt, and further, words are the beginning of narratives, which drive this particular industry, for better and for worse. Fake news, you say?

When media corporations and their underlings, no matter their race or gender, go outside of the lines in a warped sense of holding athletes to account, it’s a race to the bottom that all of us lose. Ours is an industry full of junk food hot takes that not only perpetuate the “fake news” narrative, but devalue both the athlete and what people perceive to be journalism.

When Embiid says that he has done too much for this city for people to say he doesn’t want to play, that is a commentary which goes beyond the court. Contrary to the narratives of folks who don’t care, athletes are invested in their communities beyond the superficial, or, to the cynical, seeing charity as a tax write-off. I went to Memphis less than a month ago and was impressed at how that city has embraced a fellow South Carolinian, Ja Morant, flaws and all. His teammate, Jaren Jackson Jr., spoke compellingly during the Freedom Award, the National Civil Rights Museum’s signature event, about players’ conscientiousness when it comes to the legacy of civil rights.

Embiid wears that commitment to the city twofold in naming his charitable gestures “In Memory of Arthur.” The faces who those initiatives serve look like mine. And his. They are important to those of us who care about more than load management or titles.

The championship perspective is really an ironic component of all of this. Do you want to see Embiid in November, or during the playoff stretch? Certainly, the Olympics took a toll on him, but his presence was necessary for this country to win the gold medal. The man needs time to get back to full strength. That’s a part of the Process, whether you like it or not.

Our industry needs a cultural reset. Our criticisms of athletes and celebrities should not dehumanize them. When celebrities or athletes respond to vile behavior in a fit of rage, it doesn’t make them less human. It makes them more human because they are pushing back against the darkness. And our industry should try to do the same.