Philadelphia basketball player Joel Embiid, last year's NBA Most Valuable Player, was suspended for three games after pushing a local newspaper reporter away, the NBA announced.
The incident happened on the night of Saturday to Sunday, during the game between Philadelphia and Memphis, when the 30-year-old basketball player pushed away a local newspaper columnist, after the reporter criticized Embiid's form, while mentioning his son and late brother.
The Philadelphia center, who won Olympic gold with the United States this summer, missed the first six games of the new season because of a problem with his left knee, for which he already had surgery in February.
"While we understand that Joel may have been personally offended by the original version of the column, the interaction should remain professional on both sides and should never become physical," NBA vice president Joe Dumars said.
The NBA states that Embiid's suspension will start from the first subsequent match for which he is ready, and his salary will be deducted during the suspension.
In the first six games of the NBA League, Philadelphia recorded only one victory, and they will play the next match on the night of Wednesday to Thursday when visiting the Los Angeles Clippers.
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