It’s been more than two calendar years since Draymond Green punched his then-Warriors teammate Jordan Poole in a preseason practice, and we’re still talking about it. It was quite a seismic event. NBA event, certainly, but two years? This is getting old.
But here we are, this time because Poole took a rather veiled shot, so to speak, at Green following Golden State’s win over Poole’s Wizards last Saturday.
“I love those guys over there,” Poole said of his former Warriors teammates. He then quickly edited his comment to: “I love it most of those guys over there.”
ESPN’s Marc Spears posted Poole’s comment about X, and Green responded by saying, “I’m really sorry.”
Fast forward to Wednesday, and Green went on his podcast with Baron Davis to explain his apology and the continued exchange with Poole, who Green says needs to “move on.”
“I responded [to Poole’s comment] because it’s been three years. Let’s move on,” Green told Davis. “We’re really am I’m sorry. that statement [from Poole] It was like he was looking for some sympathy. As if he still wanted to make me out to be the bad guy. Go ahead, brother. It is what it is. … I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have punched him. But it happened. Let’s move on.”
Green went on to detail how he even apologized to Poole’s parents after Poole’s father directed comments toward Green on social media, and how [Green] He goes back and forth between taking responsibility for his actions while also acknowledging Poole’s role in the altercation.
“I know I was wrong, but you also can’t call a guy the ‘B’ word and push him around and not get hit,” Green said.
There is no need to re-litigate everything that happened between Poole and Green. There were obviously egos involved and it was a spur-of-the-moment reaction from Green, who has struggled to keep his emotions in check throughout his career. It’s something that has cost him and the Warriors dearly in a couple of cases.
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But Green has been pretty good about taking responsibility. He hasn’t always changed his behavior, but he has never relied on excuses. If Poole really called it the “B” word like Green says, yes, that will usually get you moving, or at least confronting aggressively, in an alpha athletic culture.
Either way, this all happened a long time ago. This caused major consequences and shook the Golden State organization quite significantly. But it’s over. It’s been a while.
Poole didn’t have to take that little hit on Green, but he did, and once he did, there was no way Green wouldn’t respond.
