Draymond Green was subjected to his fair share of ire from Boston Celtics fans throughout the NBA Finals, from NSFW chants to taunting T-shirts.
But the 32-year-old and the rest of his Warriors teammates were able to block out the noise and win their fourth championship in eight seasons -- although Green wishes he could have been a little less quiet about it.
The Golden State veteran made an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” Monday night, where host Trevor Noah asked him if a balance can be found between what fans are allowed to say to players during a game and how athletes can respond to the jabs.
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“Well, I used to feel like fans should be stopped from saying some of the things that they say,” Green began. “Then [NBA] Commissioner [Adam] Silver comes out and says, ‘Hey man, those Boston fans are great,’ as they’re saying, ‘F--k you, Draymond!’ So I’m like, ‘All right.’”
Green was referring to Silver’s comments on the TD Garden crowd’s vulgar chant aimed at the forward. The commissioner didn’t seem too offended by it, though Green’s teammates and family spoke out against the NSFW yells.
“I want fans to enjoy themselves,” Silver told WCVB’s Peter Eliopoulos during the Finals. “Of course from the league office, you want to see it done with respect for all the participants, but I get it. I love the energy that the Boston fans bring to the game.”
Green told Noah that Silver is “probably one of the best CEOs in America, let alone commissioner of a sports league.” But he feels athletes should be given some leeway in how they’re allowed to react to fans’ disrespect -- without it hurting their bank account.
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“But [Silver’s] like, ‘Oh that’s great,’” Green continued. “So my response to that is, ‘Great. Cool. Can I turn and yell f--k them?’ Because if I can, then no problem. Let them yell what they want to yell, I yell what I want to yell and I continue down the court. And so I think the thing for me is, like, at some point, you’re kind of allowing them to do this and encouraging it in a way.
“Because they know, ‘If I yell that to Draymond and he says that back to me, he’s getting fined $25,000. He’s getting fined $50,000.’ So what I’ll say to commish is, ‘No problem. That was fun. Let them do their thing. But let me do my thing and don’t hit my pocketbook.’”
The NBA fined Green $25,000 during the Western Conference semifinals for flipping off a rowdy Memphis Grizzlies crowd at FedExForum, who was showering him with boos as he headed to the locker room for an injury evaluation in Game 2.
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At the time, Green said he knew he would be fined for the gesture but did it anyway.
With an outspoken personality like his, Green’s back-and-forths in Memphis and Boston certainly won’t be the last instances where he’s on the defense against not only the team on the court, but their fans as well.
Silver bending the rules and allowing Green to respond like he wants to, however, is much less likely.