Retired NBA center turned ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is feeling the brunt of media criticism due to unfounded skepticism into Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid's fear of contracting COVID-19 within the confines of the Orlando “bubble.” Now Perkins is feeling the heat from people criticizing a tone-deaf take.

One Twitter user noticed Perkins, 35, a one-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics back in 2007-08, deleted one tweet and replacing it with a less serious tone while commenting on Embiid's Orlando arrival.

“Seriously if he feels this way about going to the Bubble…he should have just opted out!”, Perkins (originally) wrote on his official Twitter page, according to one eagle eye social-media account. “No one would have looked at him differently,” Perkins concluded while responding to a video shared by NBC Sports Philadelphia depicting Joel Embiid in “full mask, suit and glove gear.”

The vigilant Twitter user, “KingT843,” replied with Perkins' supposed deleted tweet after the former Celtics and Thunder center replaced his tough tone by quote-tweeting the same video tweet with “Do ya thang Big Fella.” Quite the contrast.

The other night saw Perkins on ESPN deliver a scathing critique of the Sixers' All-Star center, who expressed concerns with the NBA handling operations at Walt Disney World in Orlando during an ongoing public-health crisis, including raging coronavirus cases in Florida. It should be noted that ESPN, Perkins' employer, is owned by Disney.

Embiid and the Sixers will be quarantined before the 2019-20 NBA season restarts on July 30, with two weeks of play to finish the regular season before heading into the playoffs.