Ben Simmons‘ participation in the Sixers’ home opener against Brooklyn is in doubt after the Australian skipped a scheduled individual workout at the Philadelphia 76ers’ practice facility.
Sources told ESPN that Simmons arrived and then left the team’s HQ without participating in the planned workout.
Simmons is expected to come early to the 76ers’ shootaround Saturday (AEDT) to discuss his playing status, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 76ers are hopeful that Simmons will participate in the shootaround.
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According to The Athletic, Simmons is currently not mentally ready to play for the team and was receiving treatment on his back.
The report states he will miss the SIxers’ home opener and is not expected to play for an “undetermined period of time.”
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Philadelphia radio host Howard Eskin went even further, claiming the Sixers believe the Aussie is “faking injury and mental illness.”
“According to Sources, belief by #Sixers Ben Simmons is faking injury and mental illness,” he wrote.
“He came in 2day and said he had back stiffness and mentally not ready to play. Mental illness is serious issue and team is livid Simmons went down that road. Team plans to fine him every game.”
Simmons was suspended by the 76ers for their 117-97 win over the New Orleans Pelicans for conduct detrimental to the team.
The 25-year-old has yet to fully engage in a team practice since reporting last week. While he remains inactive for the Sixers, the Australian’s drama with the team is still headline news across the US.
Philadelphia Eagles NFL player Jason Kelce was asked what advice he has for the disgruntled Simmons at a press conference this morning.
“I tell guys, you write your own narrative. I don’t want to crush any other players, but what’s going on with the 76ers, Ben Simmons, stuff like that, all of that is because of a lack of accountability, a lack of owning up to mistakes and a lack of correcting things,” Kelce said.
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“If all that got corrected, if you’re fixing free throws, if you’re getting better as a player, none of this is happening. So everybody can bitch and complain about how tough this city is to play in. Just play better, man. This city will love you.”
Kelce added that the Simmons story highlighted how relentless the media can be if an athlete tries to force a team’s hand.
“These guys were all brought in here, a lot of talent, and it hasn’t worked out for them for whatever reason,” Kelce said. “But it’s a pretty good example of how not to handle the Philly media, at the very least.
“There’s a lot of people that say it’s a hard place to play. I think it’s pretty f—ing easy, to be honest with you,” Kelce added. “You just go out there and play hard. You want to be loved in this city as a baseball player? Run to first base.
“They’re going to f—ing love you. That’s what it comes down to. If you come up here and make a bunch of excuses, you come up here and try to lie to them and act like they don’t know what they’re talking about — which sometimes they don’t — when you act that way or you aren’t accountable, you’re making mistakes or you’re not getting better, they’re going to crush you.”
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