In the NFL, Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams is facing an assault charge for shoving a photographer at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City after Las Vegas lost to the Chiefs on Monday Night Football.
In the NBA, Draymond Green is facing nothing more than a fine after violently punching his teammate Jordan Poole in the face in an incident that was captured on a video that went viral after it was leaked to TMZ. Aside from the fine, the Warriors have done nothing to discipline Green and have outwardly seemed more concerned about the tape leaking out than the brutal footage that it contains going so far as to tell ESPN the team is taking “every legal course of action” to discover how the video was made public.
The team is fortunate that Poole, who is up for a contract extension and appears likely to get one during the season while Green will have to wait for one of his own (a likely cause for the punch), isn’t pursuing every legal course of action at his disposal as he certainly has options. The team could also handle Green much differently, and they certainly would if the player he punched was a star like Steph Curry or Klay Thompson. But since Green’s practice-punch victim was a relatively unknown 23-year-old with three years of NBA experience, the Warriors have basically let the veteran off the hook with a fine and an apology.
“We feel like this is the best way after assessing everything for us to move forward. It’s never easy no matter what decision you make in a situation like this,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr. “It’s not going to be perfect. This is the biggest crisis that we’ve ever had since I’ve been coach here. It’s really serious stuff.”
Serious enough that Kerr expects Green to play in the Warriors’ final preseason game on Friday and have him available for opening night on October 18.
“I would hope that everybody respects the fact that we feel like we know Draymond and this entire group very well,” Kerr said. “While this is not an easy decision, we feel like this is the best decision we can make going forward. I trust Draymond that he will stay on that edge and not go over it.”
Had Green gone over the edge with Curry instead of Poole, he’d be off the team. As is, he’s in line to play just like usual.
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