Green Apologizes for Poole Incident
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has apologized for punching former teammate Jordan Poole and believes it’s time to move on from the incident that caused tension in the Warriors’ locker room more than two years ago.
Green’s recent apology came after Poole expressed his feelings about his return to Chase Center in San Francisco as a member of the Washington Wizards. Poole said on Saturday that he loves “most of those guys over there” when discussing the warm welcome he received. Green responded with a tweet saying, “I really am sorry.”
Draymond’s Response
“I responded because it’s been three years,” Green said Wednesday on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.” “Like, let’s move on. We’ve moved on. I really am sorry. That statement [by Poole] was kind of like it was looking for some sympathy … kind of keep wanting to make me out to be the bad guy. Move on, bro. It is what it is.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have punched him. But it happened. Let’s move on.”
The Incident and Green’s Reflections
In October 2022, a video was leaked from a preseason practice showing Green and Poole arguing. After Poole shoved Green, Green punched him. Green later publicly apologized to Poole and his family. The Warriors fined Green and he voluntarily left the team for a time, but he did not miss any games or face discipline from the league.
The punch happened during the Warriors’ training camp after their NBA championship win, but the team lost in the Western Conference semifinals in 2023. Poole was traded to Washington in June of that year in a deal involving Chris Paul.
“I kind of go back and forth with this,” Green said on the podcast. “I know I was wrong, but you can’t call a man a B-word and push him and not get hit, either. So, I kind of sit in both of those spaces sometimes. Like, the reality is, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle, right? I shouldn’t have knocked him out like that. If anything, I should have hemmed him up. It kind of was just a natural reaction.”
Moving Forward
Green emphasized that Poole should move on from the past: “I think, for him, you are kind of bringing that back up on yourself. Like when you do that, you just bring up that moment back on yourself. You just got to move on and keep it pushing, man. Got to let it go.”
Green’s Recent Suspensions and Growth
Green faced two suspensions last season. He was suspended for five games after putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and later suspended indefinitely for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face, missing a total of 12 games. During this time, Green underwent counseling and regular check-in calls with NBA executives, Warriors staff, the players’ union, and his agent.
Green shared that these sessions helped him grow as both a player and a person. “I had two therapists and a sports psychologist, but the check-in calls really helped me,” he said.
This season, Green has eight technical fouls and one ejection, a lower rate compared to last season when he had four ejections.
Accountability and Growth
“I want people to say, ‘Man, right here was a little bleak. But then look where it went from there. And that’s due to because he took accountability,'” Green explained. “Regardless of how I felt about the Rudy situation, the Nurkic situation … the Jordan Poole [incident], any situation, I took it on the chin. I took accountability for it, and I moved forward.
“They’re my fault. I needed to be better, and I failed. We all fail. But I’m not a failure.”
Injury Update
Green injured his left calf during Saturday’s game against Washington. He missed Wednesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings and will be reevaluated next week.
