Draymond Green not losing sleep over choking Rudy Gobert: ‘Don’t live my life with regrets’
If there is one thing Golden State Warriors polarizing forward Draymond Green is not doing is dwelling on the past. That includes scuffles on the court.
Green was hit with a five-game suspension for placing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold on Nov. 14, and speaking with the media for the first time since the incident, he admitted he has not lost any sleep over the incident.
“I don’t live my life with regrets,” Green said, via ESPN. “I’ll come to a teammate’s defense any time that I’m in a position to come to a teammate’s defense. … What matters to me is how the people that I care about feel, first and foremost. How are the people that I care about affected? How are the people I care about, what do they have to deal with? That’s it for me.”
Green said he was coming to the defense of Klay Thompson, who was in the face of Jaden McDaniels, which started the whole altercation. The spat came less than two minutes into their game.
While it looked like Gobert was trying to break up the two, wrapping his arms around Thompson to pull him off McDaniels, Green came flying in and put him in a chokehold. Both benches cleared at that point, with officials also trying to restore order on the court.
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Green and Gobert go back, trading barbs on and off the court. Green was asked about the past altercations he has had with the big Frenchman, to which he declined to say.
“Things can be interpreted how people want to interpret them,” he explained. “I’m not here to judge people’s interpretations or try to change them. They are what they are. I know that for me, I am always going to be there for my teammates. That’s who I am. That’s who I am as a teammate, that’s who I am as a friend. … Right, wrong or indifferent, look to your side, and I’ll be there — or even in front of you.”
Head coach Steve Kerr condemned Green’s actions against Gobert, calling them “inexcusable.” However, what was said to Green after the league hit him with his suspension remains private.
Kerr also added that the team would find ways to support Green once he returns to the team, and in Green’s view, the conversations he has had with the organization are not for him to change moving forward.
“The consensus amongst all of us is that I’m going to be me no matter what. That’s not going to change,” Green explained. “But in saying that, there’s always a better way that something can be done. So it’s figuring out a better way. That’s the consensus among all of us.”
Green will be back on the court on Tuesday for the Warriors, who have been reeling of late, dropping eight of their last 11 games. They take on the Sacramento Kings.
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