Golden State’s road win in New Orleans took an unexpected turn when Draymond Green confronted a Pelicans fan sitting courtside, sparking a heated in-game exchange.
The moment unfolded during the first half of the Warriors’ 124 to 106 victory, when Green stepped off the floor and directly into the face of a fan identified by The Associated Press as Sam Green.
Security and teammates quickly stepped between them, and play resumed without penalties. But after the game, Draymond explained exactly what pushed him past his limit.
“It was a good joke at first, but you can’t keep calling me a woman,” Green said, via The San Francisco Chronicle. “I’ve got four kids and one on the way. Can’t keep calling me a woman. He got quiet though, so it was fine.”
The fan had repeatedly referred to Green as Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, a nod to Green’s rebounding total at the time, even though he hadn’t attempted a shot yet.
When a reporter pointed out that Reese is one of the WNBA’s elite rebounders, Green didn’t back down.
“Yeah for sure, but … Lisa Leslie was a good rebounder too, and she’s older than me,” he said. “Just don’t be disrespectful, it’s cool. We’ll move on.”
Sam Green later claimed he did nothing wrong and said the Warriors forward escalated the situation.
“I wasn’t using profanity, and for him to walk twelve feet off the court to come and get in my face like that, it was a little unnerving,” he said, adding that Draymond allegedly used profanity and threatened him.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr addressed the confrontation briefly.
“As long as it doesn’t escalate, it’s fine [for a player] to go over and have a discussion,” Kerr said. “It would have been nice if security had gotten there a little bit earlier.”
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