Draymond Green of the golden State Warriors
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Draymond Green of the Warriors takes responsibility for his ejection

Published March 29, 2024 at 1:26 PM
BY KEVIN BARREAU
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Draymond Green, the Golden State star, voiced remorse on Thursday for his quick ejection, occurring within the first four minutes of the game, during the Warriors' win against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

"It just can't happen," Green said on "The Draymond Green Show" podcast Thursday. "I said what I said. I deserved to be kicked out at that point. If I'm all the way honest with y'all, kind of was trying to turn my body and angle it to go to the bench, but I said what I said a little too soon before angling my body. ... But, yeah, it just can't happen."n

Following his initial foul call, Draymond Green engaged in a verbal exchange with official Ray Acosta. Moments later, when Stephen Curry received a foul call, Green approached Acosta again, resulting in a cascade of heated words from Green towards the official. Acosta swiftly issued a technical foul, yet Green persisted, leading to another technical and his ejection from the game just 8 minutes and 24 seconds into the first quarter.

This marked Green's fourth ejection of the season, setting a career-high, and notably, his second in the opening quarter. He now joins a select group, with Kevin Durant being the last player to reach four ejections in a season back in 2017-18, as per ESPN Stats & Information. Additionally, this ejection was Green's 19th in regular-season play, placing him second in NBA history over the past 25 seasons, behind only Rasheed Wallace.


In response to the incident, Green addressed the matter on his podcast, emphasizing the need to maintain composure and ensure such incidents remain exceptions rather than the norm. Despite his history, crew chief Mitchell Ervin clarified that Green's past did not influence the decision to eject him, citing Green's "prolonged diatribe" and use of "egregious profane vanguard" towards the official as the primary reasons for his ejection.

The events of this season, such as his altercation with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Rudy Gobert in November and his clash with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in December, along with multiple incidents from the previous season, factored into the two suspensions served by Draymond Green this year.

Following the altercation with Gobert, Green received a five-game suspension. Additionally, he faced an indefinite suspension, causing him to miss 16 games, before making his return in January.

Source ESPN : Warriors' Draymond Green says he 'deserved to be kicked out'
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