The NBA has responded over the statement of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green questioning their expertise on body movements and has made it clear that they are not picking on him.
NBA VP of Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeWeghe also reiterated that the “unnatural act rule” applies to all of their players and not just to Green alone.
“Rules are discussed and agreed upon at the competition committee meetings consisting of owners, general managers, coaches, player reps and referee representatives.They go through the same procedures for all rule changes.”
“We noticed last year that more unnatural acts, such as arm flails and leg kicks, [occurred] for drawing attention of the referee. The competition committee looked at it and wanted to keep the rules fair for all teams, as well as make sure the health and safety of players were not jeopardized. We looked at it very carefully to take it out the game. Rules have to be applied to every player the same. There are no exceptions.”
This comes after the 26-year-old Michigan State product had incidents in back-to-back games where he raised his leg and hit James Harden and Marquese Chriss with what appeared to be kicks. He then blasted on the NBA for being called with a flagrant foul, prompting VanDeWeghe to release the above statement.
Green has had a history of “kicking” opponents and started to get a lot of attention over it during last season's playoffs when he hit Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams twice in the groin area causing him to have a testicular contusion. He has been consistent in saying that it's his natural motion and a way for him to draw the foul, however, the league has viewed it otherwise.
His leg flailing will continue to be a controversial topic which will split the opinion of many. The league has already spoken and will be more strict with the rule that applies to all players as part of making sure their safety is always the top priority.
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