The NBA has suspended Warriors star forward Draymond Green indefinitely after his latest outburst of violence on the court, which saw him deliberately hit Suns forward Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
Green received a Flagrant 2 and was ejected from the game.
The Warriors are only 23 games into an 82-game season, and Green has already been suspended twice.
Last month, he was also ejected for this interaction with Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said via the Associated Press. The league further stipulated, “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst added that the NBA felt added pressure to severely punish Green because of his “cold” reaction to the incident with Nurkic. Green called his attack on Nurkic “bad luck.” As he tried to “sell” the foul he felt Nurkic had committed against him.
Whether Green actually believes that or just made it up as something to tell the media, it’s clear he has no understanding that what he did was wrong and has no regret.
The question, now before the NBA and the legal system, is whether Green should be criminally charged. There was nothing common to the game of basketball in his attack on Nurkic. He wasn’t performing a basketball act that just happened to get away from him or get out of control. Instead, he just turned around and hit an opposing player.
If anyone reading this had done what Green did to another person in the street, there’s no question they would be subject to criminal charges. So, why is it not the same for Green?
Green has been ejected three times in the last 15 games. The former Michigan State star has been ejected 18 times in his 11-year NBA career.