Draymond Green offered a lengthy apology to Jordan Poole, Poole’s family, his teammates, and the Warriors organization.
Green said personal issues caused his temper to rage out of control, which is why he punched Jordan Poole.
He said it had nothing to do with Poole about to get paid, even though a report from TMZ said that is exactly what happened.
Jordan Poole is set for a big contract extension with the Golden State Warriors — something he’s supposedly made known around the team’s facilities — and it’s the reason things boiled over with Draymond Green … TMZ Sports has learned.
Sources who were at the practice where Green punched Poole tell us … in the days leading up to the incident, Poole was carrying himself differently — in a cocky manner. The alleged behavior was creating friction between him and some of his teammates, including Draymond, who has reportedly also asked for a big extension.
Fast forward to Wednesday’s practice. Our sources on site say Poole called several fouls during a scrimmage, and Draymond called him a “bitch” multiple times as a result.
Things escalated when Poole allegedly said, “You know what it is, Draymond.” — seemingly bragging over the contract situation — and Draymond got in Poole’s face, allegedly saying, “No I don’t know, what is it?”
Then, as played out in video obtained by TMZ Sports, you see Poole push Draymond back, and Draymond delivers the blow to his teammate’s jaw.
Draymond says he is stepping away from the team, but doesn’t know for how long.
He says everyone needs time to heal, and he must get together before returning. It is hard to say if this is an actual suspension or self-imposed exiled.
Whatever the case, you won’t be seeing Draymond for a while.
Flip the pages for him, knocking out Poole and some of his quotes from today.