Referees seemingly change technical foul to avoid Draymond Green ejection
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green appeared to have been ejected for a second technical foul — until he wasn’t.
Green picked up a technical foul in the third quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals, which would have been his second of the game and thus an automatic ejection. The technical foul looked soft, particularly with an ejection hinging on it. However, it was clarified that the initial technical was actually given to coach Steve Kerr and not Green, meaning he was allowed to stay in the game.
This was confusing enough, as the ABC broadcast crew made clear that, on the stat sheet at halftime, Green was listed with a technical.
Official box score from first half has technical at 1:55 of first quarter on Green. FWIW.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) June 10, 2017
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) June 10, 2017
Sideline reporter Doris Burke also spoke to those stationed at the scorer’s table, and they indicated that the referees had clearly told them at the time that the first half technical had been on Green, not Kerr. Referee John Goble reported otherwise.
Ref John Goble, according to ABC's Mike Breen, is adamant the first-half tech was on Steve Kerr, not Draymond Green.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) June 10, 2017
The explanation for all this is unclear. Perhaps, as lead announcer Mike Breen theorized, the scorer’s table misheard the original call in all the pandemonium — or, in a more scandalous interpretation, the officiating crew retroactively changed Green’s first technical to ensure that he would not be ejected on a soft call. Either way, this is a serious mess for the referees.
