‘Mad Dog’ Chris Russo, one of First Take’s more recent additions, caught a lot of criticism recently for his comments on Draymond Green.
In response to Green interacting with the crowd in Memphis, Russo told Green to ‘shut up and play’, and that ‘America’ was tired of him. Russo was immediately shut down by JJ Redick, who told him that this is how athletes were spoken about on Fox News.
And now, Draymond Green, who gave props to Redick for his comments, addressed Chris Russo’s comments on his podcast. He noted that Chris Russo has no authority to say whether America is tired of him or not.
He added that there was a slight racial undertone in Russo’s comments, but he didn’t want to focus on that. Green noted that the days of athletes being told to ‘shut up and dribble’ were over (till 2:55).
“He goes on TV and says America is tired of Draymond Green. Not sure what gives him the right to speak for America, what he’s done in his life for her. I’m not sure who he’s become in sports or in media to say how America feels and what gives him that right. We’re not shocked that he would think that he has the right to speak for America. He then proceeds to say ‘Shut up and play’. I’m not one to really pull the race car very often because we all know the role that race plays in the world that we live in. That definitely had a very racist connotation… Even beyond the racist undertone, we dont need to go any further than ‘who are you?’. Who are you to say, what have you done in your life to say America’s tired of him, shut up and play? Those ‘shut up and dribble days’ are long gone. We don’t listen to that anymore, it has no place here nor will it be tolerated.”
Green would also talk about his own experience with ESPN, and how was offered a position on First Take. It’s clear that Green will not take the comments from Russo lying down, and he gave a detailed and heavy response to Russo.
Chris Russo and First Take are yet to respond to the criticisms levied against them for the segment. But considering First Take’s general approach to controversy, even when it involves them, there is sure to be a detailed segment soon addressing these comments.
