When Draymond Green gave the booing Memphis Grizzlies crowd two middle fingers as he left for the locker room for treatment after taking an elbow to the eye during Game 2 in the Warriors’ 106-101 loss on Tuesday, he probably wasn’t paying homage to Eli Manning.
But Manning certainly thought that was the case.
In a hilarious tweet referencing the moment last year when Manning gleefully displayed the double birds during a Monday Night Football broadcast with his brother Peyton, Eli took credit for Green continuing the trend that he set: flipping the birds on camera.
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“I apologize for starting this trend,” Manning tweeted.
Manning had displayed the double birds on live television while telling a story about a 9-year-old Eagles fan flipping him off while he was making his way onto the field in Philadelphia, assuming incorrectly that ESPN could somehow blur his fingers in real-time.
Turns out, they couldn’t. And the whole country got to see Manning flip the double birds on national television.
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The difference on Tuesday was that Green’s act didn’t make it onto the TNT broadcast, though at least one fan had their cameras rolling to capture the moment and share it on social media – as did one of TNT’s cameras that streamed it online.
You can see Draymond's exit here (Warning: NSFW).
Related: Redick emphatically defends Draymond in heated debate with Russo
While Manning issued a tongue-in-cheek apology after realizing his middle fingers had been seen on live television, Green did no such thing, even inviting the NBA to fine him.
"If you're going to boo somebody who got elbowed in the eye, face running down blood, you should get flipped off," Green told reporters after the game. "I'll take the fine and go make an appearance and make up the money. But it felt really good to flip them off. You're going to boo someone that got elbowed in the eye and blood running down your face. I could have had a concussion and everything. So if they are going to be that nasty, I can be that nasty, too. And I'm assuming the cheers was because they knew I was going to get fined. Great. I make $25 million a year. I should be just fine."
Green probably is not in a joking mood over what caused him to flip the birds on Tuesday. But perhaps when he begins his full-time broadcasting career like Manning did after he retires, Green will get a chance to laugh and work with Manning on the double bird trend.