One of the hotter topics in sports today and society, in general, is the touchy subject of race. After Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was subject to racial taunts by fans at Fenway Park in a recent away game against the Boston Red Sox, the subject has been thrust back into the spotlight.
In the midst of a thus far perfect playoff run with his Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green surely has more important things to do than monitor the news. However, when asked about the recent Jones incident, Green wasn’t surprised at all that Jones was the victim of racist heckling.
In fact, the Warriors star forward went one step further and said he’s heard it all himself before, occasionally even getting called the ‘N-word’. Following from Marc Spears of The Undefeated:
“I’ve gotten the N-word, all of that. I’d rather not get into [where]. A few places, especially being that it is me. Athletes are just not protected in that regard. Maybe something like [the Adam Jones incident] will help…”
“Cheer for your team. Do what you want. But if I’m playing in the game and you’re cheering for your team, it doesn’t give you the right to say whatever you want to say to me,” Green said. “This is my job, and I can’t go to your job and say whatever I want to you. If I went to someone else’s job and said whatever I wanted to say, I’d get arrested for harassment. It’s a fine line. I don’t think any league does a great job of making sure that athletes are protected.
“The fans are great, but at times I think the leagues empower hecklers to say whatever they want to us. We are in a position where if you naturally react, you’re screwed, you’re losing money. But there are great fans out there, and all fans shouldn’t be put in that category.”
Draymond Green wasn’t the only Warrior who spoke his mind on the race issue, as two-time MVP Stephen Curry also said more needs to be done in regards to awareness:
“There has been progress, but people want to sweep stuff under the rug and turn a blind eye to what people go through every single day in terms of prejudice and racism. Obviously, there are plenty of groups, initiatives and people trying to attack the problem, RISE being one of them. As long as I have the platform I do, I plan to use it,” said Curry.
Obviously Green and Curry are both in the right here, this is a problem that athletes across the country are still subject to and some solution should be met sooner rather than later.
As for Draymond Green and his Warriors, they look to inch closer to their championship aspirations with a win against the Utah Jazz in Game 2 of the second round on Thursday night.
