Emotional Draymond Green reacts to racist interaction that led to fan ejection

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green had an eventful night during Thursday’s Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Green received his fifth technical foul of the postseason after hitting Timberwolves forward Naz Reid in the face.

He is now two technicals short of receiving an automatic one-game suspension. But that was just one part of his night at the Target Center. Sitting on the stationary bike in the tunnel near the Warriors’ bench in the fourth quarter, Green had a verbal back and forth with a fan. The fan was escorted out of the arena for directing a racial slur at Green, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Green told reporters after the game he believes there’s an “agenda” against him. He called out those who try to portray him as an “angry Black man.”

“Looked like the angry Black man,” Green said. “I’m not an angry Black man. I am a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I am great at basketball and great at what I do. The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”

ESPN‘s Alan Hahn provided further insight on Friday’s “Get Up” on the interaction between Green and the fan: “[The stationary bike is] in a tunnel. It’s behind the backboard, and the crowd’s right there. In a lot of the arenas, as we’ve all worked, we’ve seen it, they always put the stationary bike where players will stay warm, and it’s always right next to one of the bleachers. And so, you can interact, and I’ve seen players interact. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes not so much.

“And so, in that situation, and you know, the reporting was, there was a Warriors security personnel. They always have security there with the player, by the way, always one person with them. And they did confirm that there was something, you know, racially motivated in the conversation that the fan was having, which is why it led to the immediate ejection.”

Steve Kerr: Draymond Green needs to ‘stay composed’

On the court, Green has always gotten into it with opposing players and argued with referees. But he’s also a big part of Golden State’s success, and he’s needed perhaps more than ever with guard Stephen Curry sidelined with a hamstring injury. No Curry meant many problems for the Warriors, who suffered a 117-93 defeat to the Timberwolves. The series is 1-1.

Green posted nine points, five assists and four rebounds. Head coach Steve Kerr talked about the need for Green to keep his composure on the court.

“It’s part of Draymond,” Kerr said. “It’s the same thing that makes him such a competitor and a winner, puts him over the top sometimes. And we know that and it’s our job to try to help him stay poised, stay composed. But the competition is so meaningful to him that occasionally he goes over the line.”