Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green got suspended for a dirty play.
During the Warriors game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Green tried gaining position on Suns' big man Jusuf Nurkić during an inbounds play. However, Nurkić played solid defense on him, which prevented Green from getting the ball.
Normally, that would be the end of things with no added drama. But then again, this is Green we’re talking about. You can always count on Green to stir up some drama.
After being denied the ball on the play, Green inexplicably turned around and forcefully slapped Nurkic in the face. The Suns’ center fell to the ground in serious pain, and Green was rightfully ejected from the game.
Draymond has been ejected after flagrant foul on Nurkić pic.twitter.com/RmrLU5tdw8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 13, 2023
Most people saw this play and characterized it as dirty, as they should. However, one former NBA player thoroughly enjoys seeing Green assault his opponents - especially ones of a certain demographic.
Gilbert Arenas, a former NBA star who has his own podcast, said he wants Green to keep assaulting players - specifically, European ones. Interestingly, most of those Europeans are white, which Arenas seems to think makes Green’s trademark antics even better.
Last night, Draymond Green slapped white player Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 13, 2023
Former NBA star Gilbert Arena is calling for more violence against white players:
"Taking care of these Europeans one at a time… Do your thing!"
His co-hosts agree.
pic.twitter.com/3f99HNBAMX
“He’s taking care of these Euros one at a time,” Arenas said on his podcast. “The media is trying to push these Euros on us and (he’s) choking and slapping them back. I get it baby, do yo’ thing!...He’s got about six or seven more.”
By “choking,” he’s referring to when Green choked Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in November.
Arenas added on Twitter that Green is seeing “these Euros takin the league from our people and fightin back.”
Dray see these Euros takin the league from our people and fightin back 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) December 13, 2023
I SEE YA DRAY pic.twitter.com/tJ0IAlnkSN
First off, it's incredibly weird that someone would advocate for someone to keep assaulting some of the best players in the league. I’m sitting here trying to make it make sense, and I just can’t.
But furthermore, Arenas’ attitude reflects a deeper, more troubling attitude that some black players (former or current) have about white players in the NBA, particularly superstars.
Arenas said “Euros” are taking the league from “our people.” By using that second phrase, the former NBA star is talking about black people, since the NBA is predominantly black. However, if you follow the NBA, you'll notice not every superstar is black. Players like Luka Dončić, Kristaps Porzingis, Lauri Markkanen, Nikola Jokić, Damontis Sabonis, and Franz Wagner are some of the best in the NBA. All of them were born in Europe, and all of them are white.
This means that Arenas doesn’t like that white European players are in the upper echelon of NBA talent, and therefore getting lots of attention. He prefers that black stars get all the spotlight, which seems pretty racist to me.
Now you might offer a couple of counterarguments to these points I’m making. First Green choked out Gobert, who isn’t white. Second, the forward might not be targeting specifically white players with his antics.
Both of these are true. Green does seem to be the kind of troublemaker that goes after anyone, regardless of their skin color. For that reason, I’m willing to give Green the benefit of the doubt.
But I can’t give Arenas a free pass. And his call to target “six or seven more” Euros is thoroughly unacceptable, especially when you consider the skin color of most European-born stars.
It seems like Arenas wants Green to assault or intimidate all of these white European players - once he gets back from his unprecedented indefinite suspension, of course. As an aside, Green assaulted Sabonis in last year’s playoffs, so that’s at least one off of Arenas’ list.
If you think Arenas is the only one who holds this anti-white perspective, think again. Earlier this year, I wrote at length about how Kendrick Perkins claimed Jokic was only getting MVP consideration because he’s white. He further indicated that he wouldn’t use his MVP vote to support a white player.
Additionally, reporter Jesse Washington claimed that Philadelphia 76ers guard Mac McLung only got into the 2023 NBA Dunk Contest because he’s white. Ironically, McLung ended up winning the whole thing.
Now, the commonality with all these men is that they aren’t current players. Therefore, this could just be an attitude limited to those observing the NBA or who have once played in it.
But it's certainly there. Green might not possess that attitude himself and could be simply targeting any opposing team’s better players. However, some people seem to enjoy his immature outbursts, especially when they specifically affect players of a certain skin color.
And that’s incredibly troubling.
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The Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu hosts a “no whites allowed” party despite being married to a white man. https://t.co/b01JtcWiQl
— MRCTV (@mrctv) December 14, 2023