Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green had a fan kicked out of the Tuesday, Dec. 13 game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Why Did Draymond Green Have Fan Kicked Out?
The fan reportedly made a threat on Draymond’s life. Draymond did get into a back and forth with the fan. Eventually he alerted one of the game officials, and security inside Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum escorted the fan out from his seat.
Draymond had this fan ejected from the Bucks-Warriors game đ pic.twitter.com/hCN5pO7USH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2022
Why Was Draymond Arguing With Fan?
During the third quarter the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was taking free throws when the fan sitting courtside started heckling.
Green said, the fan said “some threatening things to my life.”
Green responded several times to the fan before running back to the other end of the court when play resumed. Known for his temper and inability to control it at times, Green was able to maintain his composure and utilize the officials.
“I was this close to really going back,” said Green in the postgame presser.
“Some people look at NBA players like they’re superhuman. That they’re this larger-than-life figure. So you come and you get someone to say something back and they get fined. They go home and laugh with their buddies.
“I think it’s just one of those things when you can hold it in and get to the ref and get them out, it’s great.”
Draymond Green on the situation that led to a fan ejection in Milwaukee tonight pic.twitter.com/YMG4X0OFNK
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 14, 2022
Draymond Green Fined $25,000
Green was fined $25,000 a week ago for getting into a verbal back and forth with a fan in Dallas. So he’s no stranger to these situations.
“There are no real consequences,” Green said. “Yeah, you can’t come back to the game, or even if you get arrested, nothing really happens … you just hope it gets to a point where these leagues can work with legislators to implement laws, because that’s the only thing that’s really going to correct the issue.”
Not sure what kind of legislation can be enacted to change fan behavior. That ship has long since sailed.
Removing the fan from the arena and if they’re a season ticket holder taking away their tickets and implementing bans is the best the league can do.
This ultimately comes down to human decency. Fans know what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t.
If fans want to boo opposing players, that’s all well and good as long as they don’t cross the line. A general rule of thumb is, if you wouldn’t say the same thing to a player or a complete stranger’s face outside the confines of an arena because you might get knocked out, you probably shouldn’t say it at the arena either.
NBA Fans Crossing The Line?
For too long fans have believed that their purchase of a ticket allows them to say and do whatever they want. That’s not the deal. This is a place of business for these players, coaches and officials.
The idea of grown adults going to an arena to belittle and heckle other grown adults is pretty ridiculous. Why can’t fans attend a game and support their team and players and keep it moving? Boo the opponents, but why must it escalate beyond that? Threatening someone’s life? Saying things about their families?
Fans can be better than this.
