NBA suspends Draymond Green for being Draymond Green
Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example, on Monday night, Draymond Green demonstrated Newton’s third law when he retaliated against Kings forward Domantas Sabonis for holding his ankle by stepping on his chest.
On Tuesday, during Game 2 of the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns first-round series, the league announced that Green was suspended without pay for Thursday’s Game 3 against the Sacramento Kings.
The timing of the announcement was strategic. As woke as the NBA pretends to be these days, even league officials knew the news would not be received well, especially not on “Black Twitter,” which seemingly governs the league’s PR.
Still, the NBA punished Green for stepping on Sabonis’ chest even after the video clearly showed Sabonis grabbing and holding onto Green’s ankle.
The league cited Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts” as a factor in his suspension. Green famously received a one-game suspension for striking LeBron James in the groin area in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Green did the same thing in those same playoffs to then-Thunder Center Steven Adams. Green punched his teammate Jordan Poole in October after tempers flared during a practice. The Warriors suspended Green, although many former NBA players said fights always happen in the locker room.
Green’s history as one of the NBA’s villains is well-documented, but what he did to Sabonis did not warrant a suspension. The NBA knows this. Green’s suspension is another example of the league trying to protect its image.
But what the league fails to realize is that they’re hurting the product by over-policing the players and their emotions during games.
As exciting as these playoffs have started, the NBA is not what it used to be. Today’s players are far more skilled than ever, but the league is soft. NBA executives in suits and officials with whistles are trying to eliminate physicality and competition from the game.
Then we, as fans, wonder why we get superstars resting because of “load management” during the regular season. Or why it seems players don’t start taking games seriously until the postseason.
NBA referees behave like they receive specific mandates from the league office to crack down on anything resembling yesteryear’s NBA. I’m not advocating for a return to an NBA where players were routinely clotheslined or ambushed on their way to the hoop.
To me, that’s not the essence of basketball or competition.
A part of me wants to see, feel, and believe the athletes I’m watching are all in on winning. So often, we accuse modern-day athletes of caring solely about money, branding, and endorsements. No one would ever accuse Green of those things. Watching him and Sabonis go at it made me feel like both guys gave a damn about the outcome of the game. That’s all we want to see as fans. Their exchange is what playoff basketball is about and should be welcomed in any era.
But the referees ruined the moment.
The officials gave Green a flagrant 2 foul and ejected him from the game. The initial belief was that Green would avoid a suspension and have to pay a fine instead. However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver opted to suspend Draymond Green for, essentially, being Draymond Green.
And I can’t say I’m surprised.
