NEW ORLEANS – Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green got into an verbal exchange with a fan during the second quarter of Sunday night’s 124-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The incident occurred with 2:02 left in the second quarter when Green approached the fan sitting courtside for repeatedly making comments at him.
“He just kept calling me a woman,” Green said after the game. “It was a good joke at first but you can’t keep calling me a woman. I got four kids, one on the way; you can’t keep calling me a woman. He got quiet, though. So, it was fine.”
The Associated Press spoke to the fan, who identified himself to the outlet as 35-year-old, Sam Green of New Orleans. Sam Green told the AP that he chanted ‘Angel Reese’ at Green because of the fact Draymond Green had several rebounds, but hadn’t attempted many shots up to that point.
Green said the fan didn’t say much after he confronted him. Green also gave credit to veteran official Courtney Kirkland for the way he handled the situation. Security personnel came over to speak to the fan, but “(Kirkland) just told me, “I got it,” Draymond Green said. “I’ve heard him over and over and over again. You’ve handled it well. Don’t get yourself in no trouble. I’ll take care of him. So, Courtney was great.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr couldn’t tell exactly what was said as he watched from the bench, but didn’t have any issue with the way Draymond Green handled the situation.
“As long as it doesn’t escalate,” Kerr said. “It’s fine to go over and have a discussion. So, I had no problem with it. It would have been nice if security had gotten there a little bit earlier. It’s hard to comment on it because I don’t know what was said.”
Green said he usually doesn’t have an issue with taunts on the road, but the repeated nature of this particular chant clearly made him feel the need to say something.
“I love disrespect on the road because we win a lot,” Draymond Green said. “Not this year. We haven’t won a lot, but we usually win a lot on the road, so quieting a home crowd is always fun. This crowd wasn’t too loud to begin with, so, yeah.”