Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is facing potential fines and a possible suspension after erupting at referee Jenna Schroeder before and after his second-quarter ejection from Monday’s 116-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Sources have told DailyMail.com the league won’t hold back on the mercurial seven-footer, who has been on an emotional roller coaster this season as he’s appeared in just eight games due to injuries, suspensions and the team’s controversial strategy of resting him on the second leg of back-to-back games.
‘Though the ref is without question an equal and doesn’t need to be protected in a certain way from her male counter parts, the NBA is looking to come down big on Embiid who has been an emotional mess all season,’ one source told DailyMaill.com. ‘He’s definitely going through something, and this is just another escalation.’
The source suggested the Sixers could ask him to go to anger management or step away from the team.
However, a club spokesman rejected the source’s claims in an email to DailyMail.com, including the idea that Embiid could be asked to step away. And there remains the possibility that the league considers Embiid’s ejection to be sufficient punishment, considering he never made any physical contact with referee Jenna Schroeder, who was unfazed by the incident.
Now on a 7-3 run after a 3-14 start to the season, the Sixers are quickly losing their patience with Embiid, who previously had a physical altercation with a reporter that resulted in a three-game ban.
Joel Embiid screamed at NBA referee Jenna Schroeder as he was ejected from a 76ers game
An enraged Embiid charged toward the officials after the ejection and was restrained
‘The team has been thinking, ”what’s next?”’ one source said. ‘Before it gets too late, they are trying to figure out what to do to both help Joel, keep the team chemistry intact and move forward in a better light.’
Embiid’s representatives have not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment. A league source did not offer an on-the-record response when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Embiid was ejected for erupting at Schroeder late in the second quarter. Initially he was called for a foul on San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, but only made things worse by furiously arguing the call and subsequently receiving two technical fouls, resulting in his ejection.
Embiid seemed on the brink of squaring up to Schroeder, but it wasn’t clear from replays whether he made contact with the official. Certain angles seemed to show his chin making contact with her hands and she was signaling her decision.
The 30-year-old Embiid needed to be held back by coach Nick Nurse, 76ers teammate Kyle Lowry and multiple assistants. Embiid even tore off the mask he was wearing after sustaining a sinus fracture earlier in December.
NBA TV host Stephanie Ready slammed Embiid, saying in the studio Monday: ‘It’s a foul (on Wembanyama), every which way. You can see he is up disputing it, she is trying to discuss it calmly and he goes off.
‘Technical foul, and now look. He approaches and steps to her as if he wants to have a physical confrontation, which I have a problem with. He has to be restrained. He is now out of the game.
‘I have a lot to say, as a woman… what in the world was he thinking?’
Embiid faced swift and immediate criticism from analysts and fans for his shock behavior
Analyst and former Duke star Alaa Abdelnaby questioned where Embiid made contact with Schroeder but said the Philadelphia star had no excuse for seeing red.
‘Joel’s got to be better than that. Right? Because that’s just too easy for the officials,’ Abdelnaby said over a replay. ‘He’s crowding her.’
As the initial scenes unfolded live, Abdelnaby was shocked by what he was watching.
‘This is unbelievable,’ he said, as Embiid blew up. ‘This is unbelievable. This is Mickey Mouse. This isn’t real. This is a joke… This is a joke.’
Embiid was allegedly called out by teammate Tyrese Maxey earlier this season.
As reported by ESPN , Embiid was blasted for being late ‘for everything’ amid the dismal start to Philadelphia’s season. Maxey’s point, sources told the Worldwide Leader, was that Embiid’s tardiness impacts everyone in the Sixers’ locker room from coaches and players down to the staff.
Maxey and Embiid remain close friends, but frequently hold each other accountable, sources told ESPN.
‘Tyrese loves Big Fella, but this is the elephant in the room,’ one of the meeting’s attendees told ESPN.
The NBA suspended 76ers star Joel Embiid for three games after he assaulted a reporter
Embiid has also faced previous criticism over his work ethic and demeanor during his nine years in Philadelphia.
Embiid previously got a three-game ban for shoving columnist Marcus Hayes. The Associated Press initially reported that Embiid confronted the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist over an article he wrote referring to his late brother and his son.
‘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,’ Embiid reportedly said.
But as one NBA source told DailyMail.com, ‘Joel has zero remorse over this incident.’
‘Being suspended is fine with him, he was empowered to do it because he was so upset and still upset about it,’ the source said. ‘Team officials have made it clear; they don’t want this to ever happen again and have asked him to let this pass and be an unfortunate incident and they want him to be the bigger man and move on. If he abides, great, if he continues to do detrimental things then the franchise might have to consider trading him.’
The described a potential trade as a ‘last-case scenario.’ Embiid recently signed a three-year, $192 million extension, making any deal complicated to say the least.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .