Draymond Green has hit back against an "agenda" to paint him as "an angry Black man" after his fifth technical foul of the NBA playoffs.
As reported by ESPN, the Golden State Warriors star was fouled by Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2's second quarter. His arm struck Reid's head after the foul, which resulted in him falling to the floor. Green was given a technical foul after the incident was reviewed, resulting in his fifth of the playoffs overall. When he spoke to reporters after the game, he said there's an "agenda" against him.
"Looked like the angry Black man," he said. "I'm not an angry Black man. I am a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I am great at basketball and great at what I do. The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man is crazy. I'm sick of it. It's ridiculous."
Throughout his career, Green has been assessed 202 technical fouls and 11 flagrant fouls. He's been ejected from as many as 23 games, and has a history of on-court incidents. In 2023, he was suspended for five games without pay after getting into a physical altercation in which he choked Rudy Gobert. Following that, he was indefinitely suspended for striking Jusuf Nurkić in the face. When he made his return to games, he got into another physical altercation when his arm wrapped around Patty Mills' neck.
Following the foul in Game 2, Green appeared to argue with officials over the decision. His teammate Stephen Curry, who is currently out until Game 4 at the earliest, approached Green to calm him down. The team's coach, Steve Kerr, subbed Green out for Jimmy Butler after the argument.
"I could see he had gotten pretty upset," Kerr said, "and I just didn't want him to get another technical, so I took him out at that point, and I know he's going to have to be careful now that he's two techs away. He's going to have to stay composed. Obviously, we need him, and I'm confident that he will because he knows the circumstances."
Kerr also said that Green has "a habit" of flailing his arm when he's fouled to make sure the referee sees it. "He made contact, and that's what led to the tech," he added.