MY ACCOUNT
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will step away from the team for a short period after being involved in a physical altercation with team-mate Jordan Poole.
On Wednesday, reports suggested Green could face disciplinary action after becoming involved in a heated interaction with Poole, forcing the team to halt practice.
Subsequent social media footage of the incident appeared to show the players pushing one another before Green escalated the confrontation by throwing a punch.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Green apologised to Poole and his family, and professed his hope he could still face the Los Angeles Lakers in Friday’s season opener.
“Number one, I was wrong for my actions,” Green said. “There’s a huge embarrassment that comes with [this].
“Not only for myself, as I was the one who committed the action, but the embarrassment that Jordan has to deal with and that this team has to deal with, this organisation has to deal with.
“But also Jordan’s family. His family saw that video. His mother, his father saw that video. If my mother saw that video, I know how my mother would feel.
“I watched the video 15 times, maybe more, because when I watch the video, I’m looking at the video, I’m like; ‘this looks awful! This looks even worse than I thought it was’. It’s pathetic.”
Asked whether he expected to be involved on opening night after spending a short period of time away from the team, Green added: “Yeah, I expect to play. Will I play? That’s a different story. It’s something we will figure out. What the answer is, is to feel our way through this.”
Green’s future has been the focus of speculation recently, with the four-time NBA champion stating he does not expect to agree a contract extension in the near future.
But the 32-year-old was adamant any frustrations concerning that situation had nothing to do with Wednesday’s incident, adding: “The one thing I can assure you is that that had absolutely nothing to do with anything.
“I am a flawed human being, and the work I’ve done to correct those flaws – I think – has been tremendous.
“There’s a long way to go, that’s a constant work in progress. The day that that took place, I was in a very, very bad space mentally, dealing with some things in my personal life.”
