It has been more than two calendar years since Draymond Green punched his then-Warriors teammate Jordan Poole in a preseason practice, and we’re still talking about it. It was a pretty seismic NBA event, certainly, but two years? This is getting kind of old.
But here we are, this time because Poole took a pretty thinly veiled shot, so to speak, at Green following Golden State’s victory over Poole’s Wizards last Saturday.
“I love those guys over there,” Poole said of his former Warriors teammates. He then quickly edited his remark to, “I love most of those guys over there.”
ESPN’s Marc Spears posted Poole’s comment on X, and Green responded by saying: “I really am sorry.”
Fast-forward to Wednesday, and Green took to his podcast with Baron Davis to elaborate on his apology and the ongoing back-and-forth with Poole, whom Green says needs to “move on.”
“I responded [to Poole’s comment] because it’s been three years. Like, let’s move on,” Green told Davis. “I really am sorry. That statement [from Poole] was kind of like it was looking for some sympathy. Like he keep wanting to make me out to be the bad guy. Move on, bro. Like, it is what it is. … I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have punched him. But it happened. Let’s move on.”
Green went on to detail how he even apologized to Poole’s parents after Poole’s father directed comments toward Green on social media, and how he [Green] goes back and forth between holding himself accountable for his actions while also recognizing Poole’s part in the altercation.
“I know I was wrong, but you can’t call a man the ‘B’ word and push him and not get hit, either,” Green said.
There’s no need to re-litigate everything that happened between Poole and Green. There were obviously egos involved and it was a heat-of-the-moment reaction from Green, who has struggled to keep his emotions in check throughout his career. It’s something that has cost him and the Warriors dearly in a couple cases.
But Green has been pretty good about holding himself accountable. It hasn’t always changed his behavior, but he’s never leaned on excuses. If Poole really called him the “B” word as Green says, yeah, that’s usually going to get you swung on or at least aggressively confronted, in an alpha athletic culture.
Either way, again, this all happened a long time ago. It led to a major fallout and shook up Golden State’s organization pretty significantly. But it’s over. It’s been over for a while.
Poole didn’t have to take that little jab at Green, but he did, and once he did that, there was no way Green wasn’t going to respond.
