By Michael Schwarz October 1, 2024 at 11:53am
Good sense and its obverse do not always appear on opposite sides of a verbal dispute.
In fact, sometimes foolishness manifests on all sides.
At a news conference on Monday, four-time NBA champion forward Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors bristled at a reporter’s silly line of questioning and then gave a string of even sillier answers, prompting some fine-sounding-yet-still-silly responses on the social media platform X.
“People worry about you,” a male reporter said to Green at the beginning of the exchange. “Fans, many of your teammates — “
“Why they worry about me?” Green asked, interrupting the reporter. “I am a successful black man in America doing incredibly well.”
The 34-year-old Green has played 12 seasons in the NBA, all with the Warriors. In that time, he has established himself as not only a core member of four different championship teams, but also as one of the league’s premiere defenders, appearing on first- or second-team All-Defensive Teams eight times and winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17.
His aggressive playing style, however, has often worked to his own and his team’s detriment.
In December, for instance, The Sporting News chronicled five behavior-related punishments dating to Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Remarkably, two of those punishments — one suspension and one fine — occurred after Green engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with two different teammates, Kevin Durant and Jordan Poole.
Are you a fan of Draymond Green?
In the perverse logic of the woke NBA, the verbal altercation resulted in a one-game suspension. Footage of Green punching a teammate in the face during a preseason practice, however, warranted only a fine.
In any event, The Sporting News published that list the day after officials ejected Green from a game for hitting Jusuf Nurkic of the Phoenix Suns in the head.
That most recent incident cost Green an indefinite suspension that ended up lasting only 12 games.
Hence the reporter’s observation that fans and teammates “worry” about the star forward.
As one might expect from a player who obviously struggles with on-court anger management, Green wanted no part of it.
“There are way more people in this world to worry about than me, that’s for sure,” Green said.
The reporter persisted, however, so Green responded with an irrelevant biographical comment about how, as a boy, he would never have imagined himself being so successful and people still worrying about him.
“They know the team needs you,” the reporter replied, again persisting in a fruitless line of questioning.
“So why are they worried?” Green asked, smiling.
“Because they know the team needs you — ” the reporter answered, before Green interrupted.
“But they don’t feed their families doing this,” the player said.
The exchange continued for more than a minute. The reporter reminded Green of his many suspensions and asked whether teammates could count on him being there every night. Green first said that he had been there for the team nearly every night anyway, and then brushed off the suspensions as things that happen in the normal course of a season.
Still unconvinced of his endeavor’s pointlessness, the reporter again pressed Green on possible changes in behavior.
“I don’t know what would change,” the player replied. “I don’t get the question.”
Then, perhaps not without cause, a smiling Green reminded the reporter of the team’s four championships.
“I think my mindset has helped us do some great things,” Green said. “That’s pretty cool. So, it’s all about how you spin it. I love how you’re trying to spin it, but ain’t my spin to it, player.”
Readers may view the entire exchange in the YouTube video below.
In the second half of the video above, the reporter’s microphone sounded muted. Thus, a somewhat clearer version of that final minute’s worth of question-and-answer appears in the clip below.
This interaction between Draymond and a reporter after they said people are “worried about him.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/lwGno5A3oI
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 30, 2024
Meanwhile, some social media users chastised Green for his lack of “introspection” and other alleged transgressions.
It was a very fair question. He’s capable of introspection and this was a great opportunity for that, disappointing he chose to blow it off.
— Amir Talai 😈 (@AmirTalai) September 30, 2024
The reporter meant that fans, coaches and teammates are to some degree worried that Draymond’s antics might cost the team AGAIN. Fair question. Draymond side-stepped it by pretending it was a question about his wealth.
— Fré Buffet (@DirtyBuffet) September 30, 2024
This dude is so out of touch! All the bad decisions he’s made to hurt the team. We love the Warriors but as much as you help the team, you also hurt them.
— Serenity (@Serenit53512035) September 30, 2024
If former President Donald Trump concludes his next hostile interaction with the establishment media by breaking out the phrase “ain’t my spin to it, player,” then the Green news conference will have added something of immense value to our political discourse.
Otherwise, on balance, the entire spectacle resembled a clown show.
At first, one rolled one’s eyes at Green’s comments about achieving material success, as a black man or otherwise. That, of course, had no bearing on the reporter’s comments about “worry.”
As the line of questioning continued, however, one increasingly grew irritated at the reporter’s persistence. After all, if Green had apologies or even acknowledgments to make, he clearly did not intend to make them during a news conference.
Likewise, the social media users who demanded some public act of self-flagellation on Green’s part probably need new priorities. That kind of scripted, Human Resource Department-approved performance does no one any good. If Green finds true humility and chooses to share it, so be it. Otherwise, let it go.
All told, therefore, no one here covered himself in much glory.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
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