Draymond Green in the crosshair for his aggressive nature

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors has never shied away from disputing calls he disagrees with. He is always the first one to reach out to the referees, to either get clarification or to down-right retaliate against the call. This characteristic of Green's has led him to be on the receiving end of a supposed slur, directed at him by FOX13 meteorologist Joey Sulipeck.

Sulipeck, a Memphis local and meteorologist, was not pleased when the officials called two back-to-back technical fouls on Memphis’ Kyle Anderson in Game 3 of the series between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.

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The meteorologist took to his Twitter account to voice his displeasure:

“And chew on this, Draymond runs his knuckle-dragging open mouth ALL GAME LONG, but mild-mannered Kyle Anderson disputes one call and gets ejected? Next level jackassery.”

Sulipeck’s account subsequently disappeared from Twitter, but NBA reporters made it a point to bring it to Steve Kerr’s attention. Kerr responded by saying:

“Does it surprise me that a weatherman would tweet a slur at Draymond? In 2022? Not in the slightest bit. This is America. This is how we operate.”

While the term “knuckle-dragger” might be used to describe a gorilla that walks upright with its knuckles close to the ground, it can also be interpreted as an insult toward people of African descent.

The tweet from the meteorologist and Steve Kerr's response to it have stirred quite a debate on r/NBA:

The meteorologist’s comments could easily have been stated as unnecessary, and could have been avoided. However, some Redditors saw no reason for Steve Kerr to react the way he did, stating that the term was probably used to describe Draymond Green’s aggressive nature.

The Memphis-Warriors series has been the most physical series in the 2022 playoffs so far, with, at least, one player getting ejected in each game. Draymond Green picked up a Flagrant 2 foul in Game 1, and Dillon Brooks in Game 2. Although Anderson’s ejection was not of a flagrant nature, the physicality of the series has left some fans surprised.

Draymond Green’s contribution for the Warriors is unlikely to show up on the stat sheet

The way Draymond Green operates on the floor, it is very rare to see him contribute a lot of points, but his impact is still felt. Throughout the Memphis Grizzlies series, Green has averaged 5.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and six assists – attempting only 3.7 field goals per game. Green is a team player, who is more focused on helping the guys who are in form – finding them open looks.

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Defensively, Green is the team’s anchor. He has an ability to communicate effectively on the floor. He plays a lot of switch defense. He is able to guard players one through five and use his size to his advantage. Green is a crucial piece in the Warriors’ system – as they’re trying to regain their championship status – after missing the playoffs for two consecutive years.