“I’m not an angry Black man. 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,” said Draymond Green after his team’s Game 2 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Initially, it was believed that this response was made to address Green’s side of the story when he started yelling at the referees after a technical foul was called on him.

Now, however, we find out there was more to it, as reports emerged of one fan getting ejected, and one leaving of his own accord, after making “racially charged comments” to Green. Given that incident, no one would have blamed the Warriors if they weren’t too inclined to return to the Target Center for another game. Fortunately, however, Steve Kerr does not believe that one bad apple spoils the bunch.

The Warriors’ head coach was questioned about the fan incident in the aftermath of Game 2. As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported on X, he thanked the Timberwolves organization “for their swift action”, and said that Draymond is handling the incident well. Kerr had talked to Draymond today about the incident as well as his technical count.

While we don’t know Green’s true opinion on that incident, Kerr made it clear that “I never take words from one person and label a city with that. There’s just going to be individuals — sometimes they’re drunk, whatever — who cross the line. It’s unfortunate. But it doesn’t at all impact my view of Minneapolis.” Well, good for Steve Kerr.

Steve Kerr has been the head coach of the Golden State Warriors for 10 years. Therefore, he would have gotten accustomed to hearing derogatory remarks or slurs about his players from overenthusiastic fans. It is a problem that everyone from Green to Stephen Curry has faced from time to time, as seen with the 3-point leader sometimes losing his cool when comments were made against Ayesha Curry or other family members. He would also have realized, in the last decade, that those fans represent only a small part of the fan base. Therefore, with tensions already so high amongst rival teams in a playoff series, the last thing Kerr would want is to let the actions of a few fans cause him to go on the offensive against the whole NBA fan base in Minneapolis.

If you believe that Steve Kerr is someone who urges to forget such incidents and move on, the coach has certainly spoken out when he feels there was a need for it. It was only back in late April, during the Warriors-Rockets series, when the Warriors’ head coach came out in defense of Draymond Green. He took action after chants of “F**k you Draymond” were being chanted in 2 consecutive games in Houston, by stating “It’s not ideal when a crowd is chanting ‘F you Draymond’ … I would prefer if fans could use a little more discretion and remember that the guy has kids”. He further added, “Maybe I’m old school. I’m all for the fans cheering for their team and if they want to yell at the opponents, great, but I just think ‘F you’ is – it’s a little much.”

Back in 2022, a Game 3 in Boston brought out the infamous volatile playoff energy of TD Garden fans. “F**k you, Draymond” rang out over and over there too. Since Green’s kid was reportedly in attendance, Kerr did not take too kindly to it, and said, “This sweet and innocent little guy, and he’s got to sit there and watch as his dad gets cussed out by 20,000 drunk fans. People don’t think of it on those terms, like when you’re watching from the outside. I do think it rattled Draymond a little bit because that’s pretty extreme.”

Such incidents repeating would certainly be the last thing Draymond Green needs right now. After all, alongside the playoff pressure, the veteran already holds the belief that the referees are out to get him.

Shams Charania highlighted Draymond Green’s alleged stance on referees: “because of his history….”

ESPN’s Shams Charania recently appeared on ‘The Pat Mcafee Show’ to have a lively discussion on Game 2 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series. This also involved the Naz Reid incident, and how Draymond Green has accumulated enough technical and flagrant fouls that 2 of either of them would cause a 1-game suspension. Of course, one cannot simply ignore the “The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man” remark. Charania believed that while Draymond Green might not always be in the wrong, he has done enough things in the past to make the officials extra concerned about him.

“From my understanding, it’s also what he feels is this treatment that he gets from the officiating, believing that he gets calls on him that other players may not get, and that, and that they potentially referee him differently,” said the 31-year-old reporter. “Like that play right there on Naz Reid. If this was the first time Draymond Green was making a play like that, I don’t think they go to the monitor. But because of his history, they’ve suspended him in the past, based on history, I think, because of all that, he feels like he might be getting in an improper whistle, an improper treatment”.

The stance that Adam Silver and the referees are out to get him might not be true. However, Green making such remarks only helps his case. After all, as Charania added, “now the flip side of that is everyone around the league believes Draymond Green has probably the best leeway, largest amount of leeway that any player has. He’s able to have that back and forth with referees all the time. So, it’s a double-edged sword, at the end of the day”. Everyone is playing a game of minds, while fans watch such incidents and wonder what the heck is going on.

Games 3 and 4 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series are set to take place in the Bay Area. Therefore, Green won’t find any fans throwing slurs there. With any luck, any more major incidents from the power forward’s side can be avoided for the time being.