“The thing that bothered me the most, like, yo, man, Steph had, like, ‘We already short-handed, and you still are. They called it flagrant. They called it technical. Let it go’”, said Charles Barkley after Game 2 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series. The NBA legend’s frustration stemmed from the same fact that many Warriors fans have to shake their heads from time to time. After all, Draymond Green once again went physical in the matchup by striking Naz Reid on the neck in the 2nd quarter.

After a flagrant foul was called, Draymond Green started yelling at the officials and needed Steph Curry, who’s out with a hamstring strain, to help corral him back to the bench. At a time when the situation did not need to get worse, the power forward was going out of his way to do that. However, from his viewpoint, Green was simply complaining about some alleged bias towards him.

The Athletic’s Anthony Slater recently published a clip from Draymond Green’s postgame Q&A session on his feed. The same highlighted the veteran speculating that the referees were only targeting him, allegedly because of his skin color, and the alleged stereotype that came with it. This led him to say, “Look like the angry black man. I’m not an angry black man, and I’m a very successful, educated black man with a great family. And I’m great at basketball. I’m great at what I do. The agenda to continue to keep making me look like an angry black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”

If one is to claim alleged racial discrimination of this level, then they should have some proof to back them up. After all, such accusations have all but become extinct in the top basketball league. Sure, this issue has existed in the past. A report created by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell University graduate student once found that, during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players. However, such claims are not present in modern times.

The flagrant foul against Draymond Green certainly seemed to be the right call. After all, according to CBS Sports, Green flailed into Reid and hit him in the back of the head. He fell down to the ground from there, and Green was assessed a technical foul based on that. Green certainly had the support of Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr. However, this still did not stop the coach from issuing a warning, by stating “He’s going to have to be careful…He’s going to have to stay composed and I’m confident he will because he knows the circumstances”.

During Game 2, Draymond Green picked up his fifth technical foul of the playoffs due to the Naz Reid incident. 2 more, and Green earns himself a one-game suspension. The player also currently has 2 flagrant fouls, which means another 2 would award him the same punishment. As Charles Barkley highlighted, Green cannot put himself in danger of more fouls, as his getting suspended for even one game could be disastrous for the Warriors. After all, with the Minnesota Timberwolves now having evened the ongoing playoff series 1-1, each game is important. Stephen Curry is out with a Grade 1 Hamstring sprain, and the player revealed not having a target return date in hand.

Green’s remarks were certainly a shock to some. Then again, we shouldn’t be surprised when something like this happens. After all, if history is an indication, then the player’s issues with the referees aren’t a new thing.

Draymond Green highlighted feeling targeted by NBA referees: “A lot happened if I didn’t get a tech”

Draymond Green is the one player who continues to have clashes with NBA referees from time to time. He gets physical and trash-talks as if he were the modern Kevin Garnett. However, he also has a reputation for claiming to be ‘unfairly targeted’ by the officials. Green famously said back in 2016 that “I got two techs this year for yelling, ‘Ahhh’? At this point, do I need to wear a mask? Am I allowed to show emotion on the floor? That’s who I am. I play with emotion”. That feeling of ‘getting targeted even while showing emotion’ is something he feels in even today.

After the Warriors’ loss against the Houston Rockets in Game 2, Draymond Green was asked about his scuffle with Fred VanVleet. The power forward downplayed the incident. He said that he and VanVleet were “just talking” and “everybody came and surrounded and started pushing”. Despite nothing happening, Green felt double-targeted because “You know a lot happened if I didn’t get a tech. If anything happened, I would get a tech. So, nothing happened. We were standing there, talking”.

Green has a good reason for feeling the referees might be biased against him. After all, as reported by Spotrac, the player has been fined 227 times for a total of $938,000, and has been suspended on six different occasions for a total of 21 games. Fortunately, he did not get a technical foul over the Fred VanVleet incident. After all, with the fight spilling among so many people, there were simply too many violations to keep track of. However, with only 2 technical or 2 flagrant fouls standing between him and a suspension, the referees will be looking more closely at the player now. Let’s hope Green does not state another discrimination claim if that happens.