The Warriors' past and future violently collided Wednesday. And now the whole world knows it.
But the leaked footage nukes that perception. The “forceful strike” Charania wrote about is very clearly a punch — sucker punch or not, punch experts can debate — that knocks the smaller Poole off his feet. We don’t see the inciting incident in the clip, just Green making his way over to Poole, getting in his face, being shoved away by Poole, and then the punch.
The Warriors have pirouetted on the edge of the knife for years and years when it comes to Draymond Green. I’d argue he’s been consistently the second-most important player for this dynasty that’s captured four titles. He’s adored and exasperating, a thinking man who loses his head from time to time. Who he is at this point is not a mystery; it’s practically a cliche.
But when Green’s fist connected with Poole’s face, he crossed a line far more damaging than yelling at Kevin Durant during a game. Public perception is a not-insignificant concern when airing dirty laundry is the topic of the day. If it had just been some shoving and trash-talking, the story would be dead by tomorrow and the Warriors could pivot to gettingin a good place. Instead, because of the insanely high profile of this team and TMZ’s leaked footage, it’s going to take on its own momentum.
It’s probably not helpful to get too hysterical or too emotional about this one incident. But the initial strategy of pretending it was no big deal was clearly the wrong move. At this point, there has to be a tangible consequence for Green, a player who is generally pretty adept at wriggling free from consequences .
He has that choice to make. And the Warriors, if they are smart, which they generally are, will give him the chance to make it.
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