Joel Embiid says he'll use 'hurtful' tweets from burner account as motivation
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was one of the players criticized most by the burner accounts used by Bryan Colangelo’s wife. While the big man made jokes about the tweets shortly after the story came to light, he admitted that he was hurt by them as well.
Embiid spoke about the tweets on ESPN, saying they were “hurtful,” but adding that all the criticism he read in those tweets would make him a better player.
Here are Embiid’s full quotes, which have been transcribed by Pro Basketball Talk:
“It was hurtful because of the stuff that was said in those tweets. But at the end of the day, I know who I am as a person, as a player. And I know a lot of people, they’re always telling me I’m great but I have a lot of stuff to work on. And actually, I appreciated everything that was said about me because if it was true – even if it wasn’t – that stays in my mind. And it makes me want to get better. The stuff where they were saying I wasn’t happy, that makes me want to work harder on my body. Or if they’re saying that I couldn’t do anything, it makes me want to work harder and get better. So, actually, I love it. I appreciated it. It was great. It was great for my game.”
What did the tweets say about Joel Embiid?
One of the tweets said Embiid was not the future of the 76ers. Another criticized Embiid for making the team look bad. Embiid “liked” those tweets after the story broke.
He’s liking the burner tweets now. pic.twitter.com/dwwGqVIRVA
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) May 30, 2018
What was the fallout from the Bryan Colangelo burner tweets controversy?
An investigation resulted in Colangelo and the 76ers parting ways. The investigators never determined whether Colangelo knew about the accounts. Colangelo’s wife admitted to running the accounts that criticized Embiid, among others, but also “limited and impeded” the investigation, according to the official report.
Embiid remains with the 76ers after signing an extension in 2017. The 24-year-old averaged 22.9 points and 11 total rebounds per game last season. Those are the numbers he’s hoping to improve on after reading the negative tweets.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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