The NBA has rescinded the second technical foul assessed on Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green during Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
The second technical, which occurred late in the second quarter of Golden State’s 119-104 loss, of course resulted in Green’s ejection. What made the decision to give Green the heave-ho so perplexing is that it stemmed from him yelling at his own teammate, James Wiseman.
After the game, Green admitted to being left “a bit confused” by the incident when addressing what occurred with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Green seemed most aggravated by how officials did not confer and reverse “a technical that was clearly the wrong call.”
Interestingly enough, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr — who along with other members of his staff as well as Green pleaded with officials to recognize what actually transpired — said after the game that officials admitted they blew the call.
“At halftime Ben Taylor came out and told me that it was a mistake,” Kerr said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “That John Butler didn’t realize that Draymond was yelling at his teammate. He thought he was yelling at him.”
Green of course has a notoriously checkered past when it comes to generating technical fouls due his penchant for on-court malfeasances. In fact, getting tossed Thursday night made for Green’s 11th career ejection, the third-most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2012.
The case can be made that Green’s reputation preceded him, at least in this instance. While presumably of little solace to Green, it’s encouraging that the NBA owned up and admitted the second technical called on the Warriors star Thursday night was a mistake.
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