PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Richard Jefferson Condemns Draymond Green Punch
Oct 7, 2022, 5:42 PM | Updated: 9:07 pm
Draymond Green defends Richard Jefferson (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Utah Jazz forward Richard Jefferson condemned Draymond Green after the video surfaced of the future Hall of Famer punching teammate Jordan Poole in practice.
Earlier this week The Athletic reported that Green struck Poole in a practice and that the Warriors planned to discipline the controversial veteran internally.
On Friday, TMZ released the video of Green punching Poole, drawing criticism from Jefferson.
@richardajefferson Not cool… #draymondgreen #jordanpoole #draymondpoolefight #draymond #dontfight #nba #nbanews #warriors #goldenstatewarriors #richardjefferson ♬ original sound – Richard Jefferson
“Let me say this, you don’t do this,” Jefferson said. “Fights like this happen all the time in practice, that’s 100 percent normal. Once or twice a year guys get into a little bit of a scuffle, I’ve told stories on here about fights that I’ve been in. That being said, Draymond has been in these a lot.”
Poole Punch Is Not Green’s First Incident
Green is one of the NBA’s premiere defensive players but is no stranger to confrontation.
The Michigan State product was suspended from an NBA Finals game in 2016 for accumulating too many flagrant fouls, opening the door for the Cleveland Cavaliers to erase a 3-1 series deficit and win the title.
Green has also had public spats with the Warriors coaching staff and his superstar teammates.
“We’ve seen situations with Steve Kerr, we’ve seen situations with Kevin Durant, and now this,” Jefferson said. “Look, when you’re a four-time champion, this is who he is at this point in time and the Warriors have to deal with it. But, that’s not cool by Dray, it’s just not cool.”
TMZ obtained the video of the altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole at practice https://t.co/55rMnBqAVG pic.twitter.com/k02BGsBo8G
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 7, 2022
Green reportedly apologized to Poole after the incident according to Warriors owner Bob Myers and the team didn’t plan to suspend the center.
“Draymond apologized to the team this morning,” Myers said. “Jordan was there in the room, I was there in the room with the team, the coaches, the players and we heard that.”
The Warriors opened their preseason with two games against the Washington Wizards in Japan prior to the altercation.
