In the aftermath of a brutal defeat in the Western Semifinals, Draymond Green spoke candidly on his experience with the Minnesota Timberwolves fanbase. The rant came during a segment on the Draymond Green show, when the Warriors veteran revealed the true nature of the crowd at Target Center.
“As far as the fan goes — listen, I don’t give it too much thought. I deal with fans a lot. That’s just the nature of being who I am. I don’t get off into it,” Green said. “There were some racist things said in Minnesota. I also don’t like giving these nobodies moments to feel like they’re somebody — you know what I’m saying? So yeah, there were some racist things said. It ain’t the first time. You get in these environments, and racist things are said.”
Draymond usually doesn’t bother to engage with courtside fans, but even he couldn’t hold back after experiencing what he claims was blatant racism on the sidelines. The first signs of trouble were in Game 2, when the Timberwolves launched an investigation after one of their fans was caught in a racially charged altercation with Draymond.
They issued a formal statement apologizing for the encounter, but the fan was never caught, and no punishment was given. For Green, the lack of accountability is the worst part, and he believes the courtside hecklers should face fines and penalties just like the players.
“I’m going to tell you what it is: fans are privileged. They are privileged,” said Green. “And when I say that, I mean they can pretty much say whatever they want — no boundaries. And if we say something back, we get in trouble. We lose money. We get fined. All the punishment comes to us.”
For the most part, fans stay in their lane, but there’s always one or two that cross the line. Typically, they aim to get a ruse out of athletes, but as representatives of the NBA, players are held to a higher standard, and the league expects them to keep their composure at all times on the court.
As the Warriors’ enforcer and a bully on defense, Draymond has a knack for attracting the wrong kind of attention, and he’s made more than a few enemies over this storied career. This year, against the Timberwolves, he fought hard to give the Warriors an edge in the series, but his efforts were in vain without Stephen Curry, who missed most of the series with a hamstring injury.
Going into next season, the future couldn’t be more uncertain for Draymond Green and the Warriors. After their latest playoff defeat, we can expect some major changes, but the core will likely remain intact for the foreseeable future.
At 35 years old, we know that Draymond will not change his ways, but he may not have to change at all for the Warriors to win one last championship. If they can keep the core together and beef up the supporting cast in the offseason, it might just be enough for Green and his squad to get revenge on their enemies and on all the courtside hecklers who took things too far.
