In this morning’s observations post, I shared the pool report quotes from referee Mark Ayotte in regard to the Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns fight. Ben Simmons, who had Towns in a tight grip while pinning him to the ground, was determined to be a “peacemaker” during the melee.

Minnesota is disputing that claim according to Adrian Wojnarowski, who provided some tidbits about the melee in an ESPN story: 

As the NBA’s investigation into the altercation between Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns begins, the Minnesota Timberwolves are rejecting the game officials’ designation of Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons as a “peacemaker” in the fracas, league sources tell ESPN.

Referee Mark Ayotte told a pool reporter Wednesday night that Simmons was “deemed a peacemaker” for an act that included him holding Towns to the floor in what the Timberwolves contend was a “dangerous choke hold,” league sources told ESPN.

…

The NBA’s executive president of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe, was in contact with both the Sixers and Timberwolves front offices on Wednesday night, sources said.

The NBA plans to review tape and interview participants and witnesses beginning Thursday. Both Embiid and Towns are facing the possibility of a suspension.

I personally don’t see it that way. Simmons and Towns are friends. They play video games together. On first glance, it looked like Simmons was just trying to subdue him to prevent any further fisticuffs from taking place. Yeah, it looked rough, and we all did our MMA jokes after the fact, but Towns is a big dude and I don’t doubt Ben was just trying to hold him down in any way possible.

We’ll see what happens, but surely there was an “absence of malice,” like the 1981 film starring Paul Newman and Sally Field.

Here’s a better look at the choke, courtesy of Bill Streicher at USA Today Sports: