ESPN’s Doris Burke was not pleased with how officials handled Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green during Friday’s Warriors-Rockets game.
Green picked up a Flagrant 1 foul within the first four minutes of Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round series at Chase Center in San Francisco, Ca. Notably, Green continued to argue with officials about the call even after it had been reviewed and announced.
That did not sit well with Burke, who felt that the NBA maintains a double standard when it comes to Green. She argued that many other players likely would be assessed a technical foul for arguing the way Green was.
“How many guys get this kind of a leash, in the league, to get a Flagrant 1 and continue the discussion?” Burke questioned. “What we’re watching is a person’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. He walks this line. But you’ve just gotten a Flagrant 1. And I would stand by this — over the history of Draymond’s career, it feels like there’s been a double standard.”
"How many guys get this kind of leash, in the league, to get a Flagrant 1 and continue the discussion?"
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 3, 2025
"They're gonna give players a little extra rope…but it just gets tired."
Doris Burke and Mike Breen react to Draymond Green getting a Flagrant 1 and continuing to argue. pic.twitter.com/xVq4AuzMlL
Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen pointed out that players will be given “extra rope” in a playoff game, but did admit that Green’s arguing gets “tired.”
Few would dispute that Green deserved the Flagrant 1 for the play in question (video here). It is also hard to dispute that he was allowed to get in an official’s face for quite some time after the call was made without any repercussions.
Green has a reputation for losing his cool and getting in trouble for it. That reputation is not undeserved. If one agrees with Burke, they might also argue that he might have done more to reform his behavior if the league took a harder line against him.
Green has been out of control throughout the Houston series, and officials have not even caught all of it. Plenty of NBA fans likely agree with Burke and would like to see the league take a tougher stance on Green’s frequent complaints.
