Draymond Green was so swift and definitive in his declaration, it was stunning, especially considering the video watched ’round the world.
“I love Jordan Poole,” he said. “That’s my guy.”
Love. Green’s actions didn’t suggest love. But still, he was clear and passionate about it, when asked to clarify his feelings about Poole. He left no room for doubt, no crack for another feeling to seep through.
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“Like I said to Jordan,” Green continued, “I will still ride for Jordan. I will still advocate for Jordan. I will still do anything that I can to make Jordan’s job easy, to make Jordan look good, to get him the things that he wants out of basketball that I can help from a teammate’s perspective. That’s that. My feeling towards Jordan does not change. It’s a reason Jordan’s locker is next to mine, from Day 1. That dynamic has changed a little bit. It’s on me to make that right and get it back.”
For the record, I believe him. His behavior at practice on Wednesday makes it reasonable to question his claim. But from what I could tell, the rest of the evidence suggests he is sincere. That’s why what he did was so surprising, so disappointing. He took a liking to Poole from Day 1, shucking his Michigan State loyalties to put his arm around a Michigan man.
Their shared loquaciousness and rebelliousness led to endless verbal sparring, for sure, but it was much more a bond than an issue. So it seemed.
But let’s just presume this is true. Let’s presume Green hauled off and jawed someone he loves. When the adrenaline wore off, and the emotion that seized him faded, he was left with the reality of hurting someone he loves. He not only had to sit with that. He had to hear it from Stephen Curry. From Andre Iguodala. From Steve Kerr. From Bob Myers. From his wife, Hazel.
Then the video leaked. Now Poole’s family — and the world — becomes witness to what he did. Then he had to look Poole in the eyes, and in that heaviness apologize with words carrying less weight than cotton.
“If I’m being honest,” he said, “it’s hard for me to walk up to Jordan right now, you know?”
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Thompson: For Draymond Green, the video changes everything
Green’s 40-minute press conference on Saturday included a lot of words. A lot of thoughts. People can feel however they choose about them, and him, after he finally addressed this explosive situation.
But what’s striking is the gravity of this moment and the journey that will ensue. If you know Green, the person and not the character he plays on the court, you know the jeopardy he feels because of what he could lose. His pride tried to creep through at times. The spirit of righteous indignation that gets him in trouble was trying to work its way out, forcing him to rein it back in, because he clearly understood that wasn’t the play.
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This is a huge deal, and he knows it, ramped up by the video leak that left no shadows for cover. Because knowing Green, beyond the bravado and trash talk, he wants to be a good man. One with a tough exterior but mushy insides. One who craves the adoration of people he respects and wants to be counted among the respectable. One who is often torn between wild and wonderful. And now he is at risk of losing some of the things he values most.
One of them is the respect of the youngsters. Green has always relished the role of big brother, of mentor, of someone worthy of the post. Now Poole becomes a sort of test of whether he can get that value back, even if he doesn’t get Poole. So the man who rose from Saginaw to the top of the basketball world now has another mountain to climb. For his teammates. For his family. For his name. For himself.
Sports is indeed an imitation of life. Many, like Draymond, have been here, facing a hill erected from their own failures. Maybe it happened earlier or later in life than 32. Maybe it worked out in the end, maybe it didn’t, and maybe it’s still working out. Either way, the climb is equally riveting and harrowing.
Green doesn’t know how this one will end. He doesn’t control the outcome on this one, only his input. Acknowledging that inwardly is one thing. Saying it out loud to millions is another.
“It is very important that, you know, I start the process of rebuilding trust,” Green said. “I don’t necessarily think the brotherhood is gone. But in a brotherhood sometimes that splinters. When it’s splintered, you have to pull that back together. And that is splintered right now. And it’s important that I do the work to pull that back together. Now, we’re all here to do a job, we’re all here to play basketball. And that’s always going to be and will be the main thing. For myself, and Jordan moving forward, that is a different story. That’s when you start speaking of personal relationships.”
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The gulf between desire and execution can be a difficult span. Wanting something isn’t enough. And the achievement of what is desired is far more about ability than the desire itself. Life can become about spanning that gap, finding the bridge from hope to fruition.
So much of the agony and heartbreak in my life — especially being born into a family afflicted with poverty, addiction and mental health issues — is the literal inability to bridge that gap. From family members, even myself, wanting something so badly and just not being capable of it. Or to want it right now but have to find patience, because abilities have to be learned and cultivated, even mastered.
If the concept feels a little deep for a basketball beef, it is. But this isn’t fully about basketball. It’s a drama being played out on the NBA stage.
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The relevant notes and quotes from Draymond Green's apology news conference
The stakes for most of the people interested in this are tied to the success of their favorite team and how this situation impacts the Warriors’ chances. But for the people involved, in many ways, this is bigger than hoop. What we watched as Green took the podium to address his punching of Poole was a grown man grappling with his life — again, but also in a way unlike he’s ever had to before. Green was standing on that proverbial cliff, longing for the man he wants to be on the other side of the canyon, vowing to find a way to get there.
He probably even thought he’d made it there already. Or was well on his way, but the bridge just caved before him, crumbling under the weight of whatever he is going through. The good he wants to be, he can’t quite get there. The bad he doesn’t want to be, it keeps getting in the way.
I know that betwixt. You know that betwixt.
“I failed as a leader,” he said, “and, in turn, I failed as a man. … I have to take what comes with that. I have to deal with that and continue to better myself, as I will, and rebuild the trust and relationships in this locker room. Because, ultimately, that is what is most important to me.”
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So many care because, in many ways, his actions impact the Warriors’ season. Golden State is supposed to be basking in championship glow, with their in-house GOAT prepping for an encore performance. But a deeper thing is happening in real life. A man wanting, needing, to become a better man. With the rest of his life ahead of him. And we don’t know how long it will take to figure this out, or how he does it, or if he ever does at all.
For those who aren’t interested in this part of a pro athlete’s existence, they are well in their right to want him gone. Want him off their team. To prefer he figures out his life in another place, where he can’t hurt their team. This is sports, and that is fair. But for some of us, this is the riveting part. How the drama of growth and development plays out right before us. How the end result of wins and losses, of championships and legacies, is infused with relevance by contexts like these.
We get to watch this journey in part because of Green’s readiness to be vulnerable. This stage is so large, so intimidating, it would make sense if he offered a basic apology and handled all this behind the scenes. Many would choose to handle this with a prepared written statement only. That’s fine, too. But Green is comfortable letting people in. It is an ability he has in spades, and he’s well aware of the effectiveness of turning up the transparency a bit. Even though it comes with the price of judgment, ridicule and untrained psychologists such as myself parsing through his words for our own meaning. Green still does it every time.
“I have an issue with how to let my emotions out,” he said. “Quite frankly, I like to keep my emotions in because I don’t like to give people the power over my emotions. And so you internalize them. I know I do. In saying that, it’s not something I want to change, because I like to keep my emotions to myself. But what I do want to change, and what I do need to work on, is how they end up coming out. And how do you let them out without them coming out in a way that, ultimately, you regret? And this is one that I sincerely regret.”
Green has been critical in delivering four championships to a franchise that formerly couldn’t dream of such. He has been the personification of the swagger Warriors fans enjoy as a preeminent franchise. He’s been, as Kerr has said, the heart of this thing. Many people fell in love with that, and with him. So it’s just as fine if they are invested in him, in hoping he traverses the gulf and becomes the man he should be. It is especially fine if, even after another incident, the Warriors’ locker room decides to embrace him again. Because they are more invested in Draymond Jamal Green Sr. than even us. They get to experience the good in him more than us. For them, the stakes are tied to their brother-in-ball getting his life together.
None of that means he avoids the consequences of his actions. This bill must be paid. Not just in fines and missed games. But he has and will pay in reputation, in respect, in trust, in peace.
“I am a very flawed human being,” Green said. “I know those flaws better than anyone. The work that I’ve done to correct those flaws, I think, has been tremendous. And yet, there’s still a very long way to go.”
Here’s to hoping he finds a bridge that gets him there.
(Photo: Takashi Aoyama / Getty Images)
