As the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies face off in the Draymond Green has not had the most fun series. He has been ejected and hit in the face through the first two games. The conversation about him in the NBA playoff series has been about him not carrying himself the right way.

On ESPN's First Take, Chris Russo and JJ Redick discussed Green's reputation and series so far against Memphis. While Redick explained that the Warriors star being outspoken is a good thing and that people do want to listen to him, as evidenced by his podcast and role as an occasional analyst on TNT.

Russo, who insisted that Green should “shut up and play”, retorts in a way to defend older fans who have no interest in hearing what he has to say. Redick shoots this down and insists that talking about athletes in the ways of Russo and the fans he described is disrespectful. On Twitter, Green gave Redick a shoutout while calling Russo a clown.

The notion that athletes should not speak their mind is incredibly tiring, especially for those who have experience playing like Redick and Green. The Warriors star has indeed been a controversial and divisive player, but blasting him for simply speaking his mind about an incident involving him when he is at a press conference is silly.

Green's instant-reaction podcast to his suspension in the Game 1 Warriors win has way more views than anything on the YouTube channel for The Volume, which hosts his show. Every video with him in it does very well.

Although Green has plenty of detractors, Russo will be hard-pressed to find other players who agree with him that the Warriors star should stop talking and just play.