Jason McIntyre calls Joel Embiid ‘soft’ in light of injuries and facial paralysis

TV pundits don’t always speak respectfully about players’ injuries, which often earns them criticism. But what seems to go even further is when pundits criticize athletes’ current conditions. That seemed to be the case during a discussion between Chris Broussard and Jason McIntyre on the FS1/Fox Sports Radio show. The herd Wednesday.

There, McIntyre criticized the play of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in a loss to the New York Knicks in April. In response, Broussard mentioned the injuries Embiid has been battling and also the facial paralysis he suffers from. And McIntyre offered a “soft” right after Broussard mentioned the facial paralysis:

Greetings to @jasonrmcintyre for saying that Embiid is soft because he suffers from facial paralysis pic.twitter.com/XeecOMpKtN

— Philly Scott Van Pelt (@HauserBrett) July 4, 2024

“We know his lower extremities were not 100 percent OK. He had migraines. He suffered from facial paralysis.” “Soft.”

This sparked a heated debate there. Many thought this was a direct response to the comment about Bell’s palsy, but others thought it was a reference to Broussard’s previous comment about migraines. And the latter is also credible. However, if that was McIntyre’s intention, it shows how dangerous it is to interrupt before someone has finished their point. And calling an athlete “soft” because of migraines is also problematic.

There’s a larger discussion about experts’ opinions on player injuries and health conditions, and McIntyre is certainly not the only one who has come under fire in this regard over the years. And as mentioned, the particular “soft” here may not have been referring specifically to facial paralysis, even though that came right before it in the discussion. But that still seemed a bit of a stretch; McIntyre could have easily responded to Broussard’s discussion of Embiid’s injuries and health with something like “That’s fine, but I don’t think he’s a top player even when healthy” without causing controversy, but instead opted for a “soft.”

(@HauserBrett At X/Twitter)