Minnesota Timberwolves, Draymond Green, star forward of the Golden State Warriors, committed yet another of his odious acts.
He swung his hand and struck Timberwolves center Naz Reid in the face, resulting in Green’s fifth technical foul of the 2025 playoffs — one short of an automatic, one-game suspension in a series where every game counts.
After the game, Green, a veteran player who has repeatedly been criticized, penalized, and suspended for violent play during his 13-year career, didn’t apologize or show an ounce of contrition. Instead, he pushed back against what he sees as an unfair, racist media narrative set up to demonize him.
“I’m not the angry Black man,” said Green, who got his communications degree, with honors, from Michigan State University in 2012, the year he was drafted. “I’m a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I’m great at basketball, I’m 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.”
What am I sick of? Green continues to play the victim.
Let me be clear. I agree with Green’s self-assessment: he’s a college graduate, a four-time NBA champion, and, by all accounts, dedicated to his wife and four children. He’s also one of the most important players in the Golden State Warriors’ championship dynasty, a future Hall of Famer and one of the smartest, most versatile defenders the NBA has ever seen. He’s media-savvy, and often an insightful voice on basketball and culture.
But let’s be honest. In NBA circles, it’s no secret: Green is a dirty player.
“I’m a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I’m great at basketball, I’m 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.”
NBA star draymond green
In an era defined by a less physical style of play, Green has committed acts so egregious they would have raised eyebrows even in the NBA’s bruising, elbow-throwing days of the ’80s and ’90s. He has struck players in the face, stomped on an opponent’s chest while he lay on the ground, sucker-punched his own teammate, placed an opponent in a chokehold, kicked a player in the groin, and deliberately grabbed another player’s foot to trip him.
And that’s not even the full list. I’ve left out plenty to keep this article from turning into a rap sheet.
The ‘Angry Black Man’ Stereotype
Black men in America have every right to be angry. What we’ve been subjected to for centuries — and still endure today — justifies carrying a boulder-sized chip on our shoulders. We face daily injustices that are traumatizing, inhumane, and, at times, downright cruel. It’s difficult to find a successful Black man who’s worked in corporate America and hasn’t had to fight against the “angry” label. We suppress our frustration, adjust our tone, and lower our voices, all to avoid intimidating colleagues who might mistake our passion for aggression.
Yet here’s Green, spinning the reaction to his own behavior as some agenda-driven conspiracy to brand him an “angry Black man.”
Let’s not forget: the NBA is about 85% Black, and I can’t think of another player in this era who has gotten away with more nonsense than him. He’s been ejected from games 23 times — second only to now-retired Rasheed Wallace’s record 29 ejections. But while Wallace mostly directed his ire at referees, Green antagonizes officials as well as opponents, often putting other players’ safety at risk.
Many players, fans, and media members believe the league has been too lenient with him. In 2023, I wrote that his five-game suspension for choking Rudy Gobert on national television was nowhere near enough.
Green is the only active NBA player who continues to engage in the kind of so-called “extracurricular activities” that land him in hot water. His implication that the league has singled him out delegitimizes and undermines those of us who may be forced to defend ourselves against the term when applied unfairly.
Green Knows Better
If you’ve followed his podcast, listened to his interviews, or watched him as a guest analyst on TNT, you know how thoughtful, perceptive, and astute Green can be. And that’s what makes his comments after last week’s Timberwolves game even more frustrating: we know he knows better. Yet he keeps trying to pull the wool over our eyes by claiming he’s really the victim.
As Black people, many of us understand there’s a double standard in America. When we express outrage, wear our emotions, raise our voices, drive nice cars, or play loud music — we’re often judged unfairly. These are real issues that both America and the Black community must continue to confront.
But for Green to hide behind the “angry Black man” stereotype — after he once again crossed the line — is not just irresponsible. It’s insulting.
I can’t help but think about one of my favorite bedtime stories when I was a kid: the little boy who cried wolf.
