The Milwaukee Bucks fan who got ejected after interacting with Warriors forward Draymond Green on Tuesday is speaking up about his side of the story.
Bucks fan Mike Shane joined Kris Johnson on his “KJ Live” podcast to explain what went down with Draymond, who told reporters after the game that Shane said “threatening stuff to my life.” Listening to Shane, Green sounded threatened that Bucks fans spared him some form of retribution for punching Jordan Poole, who is a Milwaukee-area native. Shane said he meant no threat when he said the city was "giving him a pass."
From his seats near the court, Shane got Green’s attention while Giannis Antetokounmpo shot free throws. A couple minutes later, Green had Shane ejected from the game after talking with referees. (H/T to @TheWarriorsTalk on Twitter for sharing the podcast).
On the "KJ Live" podcast, Johnson asked Shane if he made a threat to Green’s life.
“Man, no not at all,” Shane said. “He was underneath the free throw line, and I told my friend, ‘Man, I’m gonna say something.’ So he underneath the free throw line and I got his attention, and I said, ‘Draymond, we giving you a pass.’ He said, ‘What pass?’ … Evidently he was waiting for that to happen. He blew it out of proportion. I don’t know how he could take that as a threat.”
Asked to clarify what ‘pass’ he was talking about, Shane said, “Basically I was speaking up for the city of Milwaukee. Telling him, ‘We giving you a pass,’ we haven’t forgot about what you did. A big bully, we haven’t forgotten about what you did and we giving you a pass.”
Poole being a Milwaukee native, Shane said he felt the need to say something directly while he had his chance.
“I’m coming from being from Milwaukee and being a basketball fan perspective,” Shane said. “Let alone, (Poole) being from Milwaukee, you don’t do that to your teammate, somebody you’re supposed to have that connection with and love. I was speaking up for Milwaukee. We felt like we saw lil brother getting bullied and we couldn’t do nothing about it. We ain’t forgot about it. We giving you a pass.”
A self-proclaimed trash talker on the basketball court, Shane said he picked a good time to get under Green’s skin. After Giannis sunk both of his free throws, the Bucks led 82-59. Shane reiterated that he made no threat to Green’s life, as Johnson noted Green was recently fined $25,000 “obscene language” towards a fan in Dallas.
“He does it all the time and who says it’s not gonna happen again?” Shane said. “I think he’s bitter and he don’t like the fact that he’s Mr. Triple-Single himself. They was down by 21. If anybody knows me, I’m a big trash talker when I’m playing basketball. I picked the right time to say what I had to say.”
Shane said Green went too far in asking the referees to eject him.
“I just think Draymond misused his power,” Shane said. “Trash talking is part of basketball. I never used any profanity. It was all valid. I didn’t say anything malicious. I think he really misused his power, but the NBA should be keeping it clean. Keep it basketball, keep it clean. It’s ways to do it and I feel like, it’s Draymond. It’s Draymond. Look, I didn’t even know he had that much pull. You mention LeBron James and CP3 (Chris Paul), we’re talking about Draymond Green. Draymond Green. You talking about Mr. Triple-Single himself. You a bully and you can’t take heckling back. That’s what I do. I play ball. I trash talk. You can’t take it? C’mon man.”
Shane said the Bucks were understanding of the situation and he wasn't punished any further.
"They were actually great," Shane said. "We went to the back and they explained everything to me. They explained that they were gonna give a refund for my ticket money, plus courtside seats for future games. There was two police officers who were right there -- there was a police officer and the league security who came and vouched for me. Because they were right there and said I didn't use any profanity, I didn't say anything malicious. The NBA, they were very professional about everything. They took care of me great."
Shane took a few more digs at Draymond before the interview was over.
“He’s a big baby,” Shane said. “He’s trying to stay relevant. He knows he’s at the end of his career.”
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