NBA Players React to Draymond Green's Ejection

The Golden State Warriors will be without defensive anchor Draymond Green for the remainder of Game One vs. the Memphis Grizzlies. After a questionable Flagrant 2 call that automatically ejected Green from the game, the NBA world shared their reactions:
Flagrant 2???
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 1, 2022
Can’t officiate the PLAYER officiate the PLAY
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) May 1, 2022
We gotta have better context with these rules man.
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) May 1, 2022
Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, and Damian Lillard were some of the first players to share their thoughts, as more will likely weigh in at some point. It is a massive call, especially that early in the game, as it will require the Warriors to secure a win without their most important player behind Steph Curry.
While a Flagrant 1 would have been warranted, as everyone on the broadcast including former official Steve Javie agreed, a Flagrant 2 seemed excessive. Given the context of the playoffs, which is seemingly what Damian Lillard was referencing in his Tweet, and also that Draymond tried to hold the offensive player up, a Flagrant 2 seems like more of a reputation call than anything else.
That reputation element is what Trae Young referenced in his Tweet, saying officials need to officiate the play rather than the player. With Draymond Green's history, and reputation across the league, it seems as if the officials took that into account when issuing him a Flagrant 2.
As the Warriors have shown in these playoffs, they are a deep team with a lot of firepower. They will need to tap into that depth to get a win in Game One vs. Memphis.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.
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