Getty Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green reacts after getting whistled for a technical foul.
With each new episode of his podcast, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green makes headlines with his hot takes and revelatory interviews. But the baller turned analyst is doing a whole lot more than generating clicks — he’s helping a generation of pro athletes discover their voice.
Case in point: Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle and five-time Pro-Bowler Cam Heyward.
On the very first episode of his pod, Not Just Football, in July, Heyward used Green’s “new media” buzzword to describe himself in his latest endeavor. Not only that — he shouted out the Dubs star by name and pushed back against those that decried Green’s podcasting during the NBA Playoffs.
More recently, though, the 33-year-old pondered on the possibility of squaring off against Green in the boxing ring.
Heyward Namechecks the Warriors Star as a Potential Opponent
As the September 14 episode of his show neared its conclusion, Heyward and co-host Matt Walsh found themselves talking about celebrity boxing matches involving pro athletes, which naturally led to the duo dreaming up potential fights for the Steelers star.
To be clear, Heyward pushed back on the idea that he would ever participate in such an event.
“First of all, I ain’t never doing that crap,” said Heyward. “When I retire from this I am relaxing a little bit. I care a lot about this game and what I’m doing right now, but I will be spent after.”
Curiously, though, it was Heyward who served up Draymond as a potential opponent, citing the MSU-Ohio State rivalry (if you can actually call it that). Walsh jumped on the idea in short order.
“You vs. Draymond would be a fun boxing match. That would be a lot of fun,” Walsh said. “Draymond’s great because Draymond sells the fight… Draymond will sell the hell out of the fight. We’ll be able to sell hundreds of thousands of tickets.”
Added Heyward: “Oh yeah, I’m gonna let Draymond do all the talking. He’ll set up the fight.”
That said, Green seems even less inclined to actually throw down than Heyward is. The four-time champ went directly to Twitter upon catching wind of Heyward and Walsh’s discussion and made it clear that he’s more Don King than Mike Tyson.
“I definitely will do all the talking big fella… as the promoter!” wrote Green. “I’m not getting in anyone’s boxing ring… NO SIR!!! Go Steelers! 1-0.”
The Idea Was Inspired By Last Week’s Le’Veon Bell-Adrian Peterson Bout
The whole reason Heyward and Walsh were discussing hypothetical matchups was former Steeler Le’Veon Bell’s bout with future Hall-of-Famer Adrian Peterson on Saturday.
As part of the Social Gloves: No More Talk fight card, the two running backs went toe-to-toe in a five-round slugfest that ultimately saw Bell land a hard right hand to pick up the victory by TKO. “I appreciate everybody’s love and support, for real,” Bell said after the fight, via ESPN.
Elsewhere on the card, former Warrior Nick “Swaggy P” Young faced social media influencer Minikon. However, the fight ended without a decision when a stiff shot sent Young out through the ring ropes after which he chose not to continue.