The Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors was ugly for Draymond Green for a variety of reasons. Not only did he struggle through the game as the Warriors lost, but he was also treated by the infamous Boston crowd in a way that has sparked the ire of his teammates, and now his wife.
Green was showered with ‘F**k You, Draymond’ chants throughout the night by Celtics fans in the TD Garden. While heckling is a part-and-parcel of sport, the fans seem to have really offended various people close to Green. His wife shared a lengthy post on Instagram admonishing the Celtics fans.
In the Instagram story, Green’s wife Hazel went off on the Celtics fanbase, saying that the Warriors fans would never treat an opposing player like this. She called out the NBA for not enforcing their code of conduct and seemed distressed over the fact that their kids had to witness the entire ordeal.
Draymond Green’s wife, Hazel Renee, on Boston’s chants at tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/pG44LA8FE1
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 9, 2022
Green had a rough night by all accounts yesterday for Game 3. But is the reaction that crowd heckling has gotten justified? Sports fans are known for behavior like this and players get worse things said to them. However, that doesn’t mean we should just accept behavior like this at games.
Fan-athlete interactions have become extremely strained, with Ja Morant’s dad facing racist treatment in Utah, Chris Paul’s mother being shoved in Dallas, and fans running up to Russell Westbrook and calling him ‘Westbrick’. Family members haven’t done anything to the fanbase, so Draymond’s wife is understandably upset that the father of their children was being abused by a stadium full of people while the kids were at the game.
Athletes do get to be multi-million dollars, so is that enough of a reason for them to bite the bullet and continue playing? It’s a balance pro sports hasn’t found in years, but hopefully, the NBA can better protect the players from such instances.
