Draymond Green says he wanted to fire back at Celtics fans who were chanting expletives at him during the NBA Finals. But he was afraid of getting fined.
On “The Daily Show” Monday, Green expressed frustration that NBA commissioner Adam Silver praised Celtics fans for their enthusiasm and didn’t seem concerned they were showering him with cries of “F— you Draymond!”
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“The commissioner is the best commissioner. Like I said in my tweet, he’s probably one of the best CEOs in America, let alone the commissioner of a sports league,” Green told host Trevor Noah. “But he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ My response to that is, ‘Oh, that’s great, Cool. Can I turn and yell, ‘[Expletive] them’?”
The Warriors complained about the vitriol directed towards Green in real time, and are still doing it today. After Game 3, Steve Kerr and Klay Thompson both criticized Celtics fans, with Thompson expressing his dismay they would swear in front of Green’s young son, who was in attendance. (Thompson did not comment about Green saying “s—“ in front of his son during his post-game presser, but that’s beside the point.)
Green’s wife also chastised Celtics fans in an Instagram post.
On a recent podcast, Kerr said he thought Celtics fans "crossed the line."
While Green didn’t speak out at the time, it’s apparent the vehement scorn coming his way bothered him.
“I think the thing for me is that at some point, you’re kind of allowing them to do this, and encouraging it in a way,” he said. “Because they know if I yell to Draymond and he says that back to me, he’s getting fined $25,000. He’s getting fined $50,000.”
Ultimately, Green says he didn’t want to just stand there and take it.
“So what I was saying to the commissioner was ‘No problem. That was fun. Let them do their thing. But let me do my thing and don’t hit my pocketbook,” he said.
For obvious reasons, sports leagues dissuade players from verbally accosting fans, even if they’re unruly. But if Green wanted to shout back at Celtics fans, he could’ve done it. He’s earned an estimated $129 million in his NBA career. One $50,000 fine shouldn’t set him back.