Saying that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is disappointed about the recent ugly fan incidents would be an understatement. After all, for him, the NBA allowed it to happen to the players.
In his recent appearance on The Big Podcast With Shaq, Green revealed how horrified he is that the NBA never thought of protecting the players from the fans. As the Warriors vet said it, the fact that the league is punishing players with costly fines for talking back to rude fans while just getting the said hecklers ejected from the game sets a bad example–which he believes is also the reason for the string of poor behaviors from some supporters.
To recall, Russell Westbrook was poured with popcorn by a Philadelphia 76ers fan, while Trae Young got spat by a New York Knicks supporter. Meanwhile, a Boston Celtics fan threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving during the Brooklyn Nets' first-round series with the Beantown team.
“When you take it so far left to where a fan is like, ‘if I can come to the game and I can get Shaq or I can get Draymond or Steph Curry or whoever to get mad at me and to say something back, he loses money. Hahaha.' What's the worst thing that may happen to this fan if I get into a screaming match with a fan, that he gets removed from his seat? The protection of the players went missing, and now they’re just taking it to another level,” Green said, via NBC Sports.
“Not only is there no protection of players, but then you give all these guys face time. They’re on TNT, the same channel that we’re all on every day, they’re on ESPN, they’re getting their five, 10, 15 seconds of fame. The only punishment is that they cannot come back to the game. Who f—ing cares!?
“What it’s going to take, is somebody getting their ass kicked, and then they’ll respond.”
Draymond Green certainly makes a great point. As the Warriors forward suggested, what these recent incidents only highlighted is how lenient the NBA has been when it comes to fans and their behavior. There isn't really much consequences for rude fans aside from getting banned, while players risk losing money for any unruly reaction or gesture towards the crowd.
Hopefully, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the top brass hear Green's comments. It will always be hard to predict the behavior of fans, but the league can certainly do something to protect the players that generate money for them. That is something they can always control.
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