Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Draymond Green Isn’t Worth the Trouble

“My love is there and ain’t going nowhere,” said the man who assaulted his coworker.

Draymond Green may be that one person who ruins it for the group, a championship squad, I’ll add. The Golden State Warriors had a nice gig going until he thought he was above it all and laid out Jordan Poole.

There is nothing his victim could have said to warrant such a fierce blow to the head. And somehow, Green is lucky the ramifications of his rogue hands weren’t more severe to his teammate.

What if Poole fell, hit his head, and died, like the victim of recently convicted Mexican actor Pablo Lyle? The deceased was Juan Ricardo Hernandez, killed after taking a punch to the face and hitting the ground with his head, following a road rage dispute.

Any reasonable observer can tell by watching TMZ’s video that Green committed the act of a bully. It took no balls for Dray to invade Poole’s personal space and sucker punch him when his teammate pushed his aggressor off—especially considering the size difference of about, hmm, two inches and 40 pounds. All it took was a pathetic and witless show of ego.

Yes, of course, Green apologized, and the Warriors said they’d handle the mess internally. But then the video came out, and reportedly, some players didn’t see the strike until it was replayed because they were doing their jobs.

The Dubs are trying to settle this privately. Green is taking an indefinite leave of absence, and he and the team allegedly made this decision “mutually.” Just my two cents: Green would have been sent home regardless of his willingness to take this sabbatical. I’m not surprised more reporters didn’t call BS on the member of labor who committed a crime somehow having a say in his punishment.

Isn’t Green sure lucky he works for an NBA team? There is not one job worth working where this behavior wouldn’t be cause for termination.

But what started this? A disagreement between the two over foul calls in practice led to Green calling his teammate a “bitch.”

I’ve seen this movie before. Back in Nov. 2018, Golden State’s power forward said the same thing to then-teammate Kevin Durant on the sideline during a timeout of a losing effort against the Clippers. When free agency came around, KD left.

Nearly two years later, Green interviewed Durant on his show Chips. He asked how much getting called out of his name drove KD to leave the Warriors.

Nearly nine minutes into the interview, Durant said it wasn’t the argument. It was the way the team managed its first public meltdown. Green’s lack of grace, then, created a situation to be handled in the first place.

This latest offense comes when both guys are looking for contract extensions. Undoubtedly, management won’t be thrilled about potentially being put in an expedited position to choose between them.

I empathize with Poole. Having a clip circulate online where you are getting knocked out is embarrassing.

Assaulting someone is a serious offense that should not be tolerated in sports. It’s true. Green isn’t the first, nor will he be the last to shamefully compose himself this way. That doesn’t change how he irresponsibly risked irreparable harm to his relationship with Poole and the rest of the workplace environment.

It doesn’t matter that fights between teammates happen, and usually away from spies. What Green did to his man is dehumanizing and painful. JP had no chance because he never saw it coming.

This wasn’t a fight. It was physical abuse. A genuine-sounding apology in front of the media doesn’t fit the accountability bill. Although, I do appreciate that Green expressed regret to Poole’s family. But maybe Draymond should check himself into some anger management meetings or schedule counseling with a therapist.

“Oh, but this happens in sports all the time.” The people spouting this nonsense must have missed the part of workplace training that instructs employees to keep their hands to themselves.

It’s not like Green hasn’t been told that before. He was roped by police for slapping a taunting Michigan State football player back in 2016 in East Lansing.

There is no way around it. Draymond is a repeat offender on the decline who is not worth keeping around at his salary. It’s one thing for his offensive play to be a detriment to the group at times because the opponent doesn’t guard him. It’s another when he forgets himself and his importance to the locker room.

San Francisco police said they wouldn’t investigate the attack— not like anyone other than Dirty Harry gets results over there.