Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Stephen A. comments on Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid’s testy exchange with Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes,
The other off the court news involved Sixers big man Joe L. Embiid and a columnist from the Philadelphia Inquirer by the name of Marcus Hayes.
It happened Saturday night following.
The Sixers loss to the Grizzlies, as reporters were entering the locker room and Bid took exception to a column written by Hayes. We mentioned in Beid's son and late brother while questioning his professionalism and effort to stay in shape. Here's a portion of what Hayes wrote, look at this, y'all quote. Jarlin Bid 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 in bad was in his first year as a seventy six er. 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. His eleventh season, he consistently has been in poor condition. This poor conditioning apparently seems to have delayed his debut this season end quote. On Friday, Ebid defending himself to reporters when asked about his lack of play.
Take a look at this.
I've done way too much, you know, for this CD and you know, putting myself out raised. Uh, you know, for people to be saying so that's all I do think? Is it like I do? He's not here, Marcus, whatever his name is. I've done way too much for his pa to be triered like this.
Then Saturday, things came to a head when Hayes and Embiid encountered one another in the locker room, and b was reportedly overheard shouting the following at Marcus Hayes quote, the next time you bring up my dead brother and my son again, you are going to see what I'm going to do to you, and I'm going to have to live with the consequences end quote, and reportedly eventually pushed Hayes on the shoulder while the team's public relations chief got between them a couple of notes to point this out with an open hand, They said that in Bead's open hand touched Marcus Hayes's neck and shoulder.
That's what they say.
I reached out to EMBIID and through the seventy six ers to ask him to come on today's show. He was not made available because the league is still in conducting an investigation and obviously he's not allowed to speak. In the case of Marcus Hayes, I reached out to the Philadelphia Inquirer. That is the paper that I used to work for for seventeen years. I might add, and I know Marcus Hayes, okay, as a colleague. I don't know him intimately on anything like that, but I know him as a colleague. Marcus Hayes was wrong. Now that doesn't absolve in Beid and B was wrong too. You don't put your hands on anybody. You don't engage in physical violence. You just don't do that. Regardless of what our society tries to depict and encourage and condone, you don't do it. And had he done more than that, he'd be in a world of trouble because it's something you just don't do.
So we have to say that.
But Marcus Hayes was wrong, and I'm going to tell you why you don't do what he did. M B has been perpetually injured throughout his career. Marcus Hayes, and I've read numerous columns that he's written on in BED over the last several months. Has every right to say what he said about in Bid, questioning his conditioning, questioning why the hell would you go and play for Team USA when you know you've missed so much action for the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. That's an additional couple of months that you could have been home getting yourself ready for this upcoming season. He's accused in BEIID of not prioritizing the Sixers as much as himself, not prioritizing the Sixers fan base as much as himself. Whether you agree or disagree, I am here to say that Marcus Hayes has every right to write that and every right.
To say that.
What you don't do, however, is bring up his brother who's deceased due to a car accident, and the fact that the inflection point that you referred to involved in Be's son, who he named.
After his late brother. That's pretty damn low. You can't do that.
And when I invited Marcus Hayes on this show and he did not get back to me, I wanted to emphasize the point that I really thought he crossed the line with.
That, but that's it.
Nothing else crossed the line. You're a columnist. You're paid to editorialize in opine and give your opinion. And if you feel that this brother is out of shape and you that he is robbing Sixt's fans season ticket holders, I think it's over fourteen thousand season ticket holders that he's robbing the fan base, that the team that's looking for a new one point fifty five billion dollar new arena in downtown Philadelphia, and that that's gonna couse taxpayers their money and they're not getting it's worth from Joel and b. As a columnist, ladies and gentlemen, he has every right to write that.
He has every right to say it.
Go back in the Philadelphia Inquirer and see some of the columns I've written over the years. Trust me, I didn't bite my tongue and I felt very harsh things that Tom's and I wrote it, damn it. So I'm not about to city and be a hypocrite and call Marcus Hayes out for that.
He's not wrong for that.
But Marcus is a pro and he's been around a long time. This in Lovers, you can't sink to and mentioning his dead brother and his son crossed the line and I and Embiid is one of the nicest guys you ever want to meet.
He is a superstar in this league.
He has box office and has a box office personality to go along with that.
I love me some, Joel Embiid.
And if I had been there and I'd had the pleasure of conversing with Joel Embiid, I would have told him Marcus crossed the line with that one paragraph about your dead brother and your son. But I would have defended Marcus Hayes right to write everything else. And in fairness to Joel Embiid, he said, talk about me, attack me all you want to, don't mention my family. He's right about that. He's right about that, and Marcus Hayes was wrong about that. Now, in fairness to Mark Hayes, he tried to apologize and B wasn't hearing it. He gave some pushback, and B really wasn't hearing that. And those excerpts that I read to you are now deleted. But what's done is done. Marcus Hayes is not an amateur. He's been around a long time. And he knows better than doing that. So in that regard, I'm giving him that criticism, but I want to emphasize it's the only criticism.
And b missus half his games.
He's never healthy for a full season, and he's only been healthy for one playoffs, and that was during the whole COVID delayed.
Season or COVID halted season. Whether you agree or disagree, Marcus Hayes has every right to write his opinion about those things. You just didn't have to use.
His deceased brother and his son to do it.
Excuse my language.
There's a certain shit you don't do, and deep down Marcus knows that, which is why he deleted the excerpts and why he tried to apologize.
But it was too little, too late after that, and that's my opinion on it.