The main story in the sporting world early this week centered around Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who revealed that some Boston Red Sox fans had made racist remarks and "called the N-word a handful of times" during their game on Monday night, creating a conversation about how fans treat players.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green contributed to the conversation, telling Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he has had fans hurl racial slurs at him in several places.
“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,” Green told The Undefeated on Tuesday night before the Warriors’ 106-94 win over the Utah Jazz in the opener of their life second-round playoff series.
Green said part of the reason there are incidents such as the one Jones had in Boston is because sports leagues “empower hecklers” by not disciplining them strongly for disrespecting the players. The two-time NBA All-Star added that more protection is needed for the athletes and that they also receive hate from fans over their high salaries.
“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.”
Green recalled of couple of instances in games where fans initiated an altercation with no repercussions. He mentioned that Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley was fined $25K for confronting a fan in their first round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Beverley said that the son of Thunder minority owner Jay Scaramucci had "cussed at him with the 'F-word,'" and he responded to it.
Green is also a member of an advisory board for the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), which aims to improve race relations. Stephen Curry is also a member of the board.
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