Getty Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob and team president Bob Myers look on during a game against the Denver Nuggets.
Just as they were in June when they captured their fourth championship in the last eight season, the Golden State Warriors are currently the talk of the NBA world. This time, though, they’d undoubtedly prefer to be flying under the proverbial radar.
During the team’s Wednesday practice, four-time All-Star Draymond Green reached such a point of frustration with teammate Jordan Poole that he threw what can only be described as a punch at the baller, sending him crumpling to the court.
Initial reporting on the incident only went so far as to state that Poole had been struck. And in the aftermath, team president Bob Myers indicated that Green probably wouldn’t be missing any regular-season games as a result of his actions. Then the video came out, courtesy of TMZ.
As a result of the leak, some are wodnering whether Green ought to be facing a significant punishment for his actions. And while the Warriors will have to make a determination on that, they’re seemingly just as concerned about how the video got out.
ESPN Insiders: Warriors Looking Into Video Leak
As reported by ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski (with Kendra Andrews contributing), the Warriors are taking “every legal course of action” in an effort to determine how the Green-Poole video got out.
So, in a sense, the Warriors are in the midst of two major internal investigations at the moment. First and foremost, they’re gathering facts to determine what the appropriate punishment is for the 32-year-old Green. Then there’s the matter of the footage escaping the walls of the team’s practice facility.
Per the ESPN report, Golden State is “aggressively investigating” both developments.
What they’ll do if/when they discover who’s responsible for the leak remains to be seen. This much is certain, though — the response from players, coaches and other people involved with the league regarding the leak has been almost as loud as what we’ve seen in response to the actual altercation itself.
NBA Reacts to the Green-Poole Footage Leaking
After video of the altercation reached the surface, New York Knicks wing Evan Fournier was one of many who observed that the person responsible for leaking it undoubtedly stood to gain financially from doing so. “Somebody got a bag for releasing that tape. Smh,” tweeted Fournier.
Regardless of what the motivation behind the releasing of the footage was, though, many are of the opinion that it should result in the immediate dismissal of whoever was responsible.
“Id fire my ENTIRE VIDEO STAFF,” tweeted former Warrior Richard Jefferson.
“Someone’s definitely getting fired for that video leaking,” added Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox.
“How in DA HELL was that @Money23Green Jordan Poole video leaked??” wondered Hall of famer Reggie Miller. “That’s an in-house video, man there better be some heads rolling.. Y’all are the World Champs and have an inside snitch?!?!? #SoNotCool”
Meanwhile, David West — another former Warrior who won two championships in the Bay — tweeted the following: “Fire whoever leaked that video. Got a whole bunch of mofos who can’t be trusted.”