Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is never afraid to speak his mind, and that's a great thing. When asked at Monday's media day about the importance of athletes speaking out about what's happening in America, Green responded with a four-minute answer about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the reaction to his protest, plus Green's own role in changing things.
"I think it's important for us to speak out because we're human," Green told reporters, via the Mercury News' Anthony Slater. "A lot of times people say, 'oh, they should talk about this or they shouldn't talk about this.' Me personally, I couldn't really care less about what somebody thinks I should or shouldn't do. I am human, I have the right to speak out on whatever I choose. As well as other guys. With the platform that we have, I think a lot of people say, oh they should speak out because people are watching. I think that's all personal preference. I think there are a lot of changes that need to be made. And it's not just the killing of black people. That's obviously rough and crazy to me, but there's a lot of changes that need to be made in this country."
When it came to Kaepernick, Green's main message was that it's wrong that people have been more interested in discussing him kneeling during the national anthem than talking about the reasons why he was doing so. Green also asserted that Kaepernick was not disrespecting the American flag or disrespecting the military.
"Obviously everybody's been talking about the kneeling and stuff that Colin started," Green said. "I respect Colin for that because he took a stand that he knew would probably create some controversy, and he didn't care. And I respect that because, you know, sometimes controversy is needed in order to get a point across. And I think he's gotten his point across.
"If you turn on the TV, everything people are talking about is Colin Kaepernick's kneeling down and disrespecting America," Green continued. "No he's not. But nobody wants to face the real problem or talk about the real problem, so we're going to talk about what he's doing and try to sweep what he was really talking about under the rug. And I think it's pretty ridiculous, to be quite frank."
Like LeBron James and numerous other stars asked about protests on Monday, Green said that he would stand during the anthem. He does not believe that it's necessary for him to do that, even though he supports Kaepernick and his cause.
"Am I going to kneel down and put my fist up?" Green said. "No. I'm not. That's no disrespect to Colin or anybody else that's doing it. But the point is out. Like, they've gotten the point across. I don't think I need to come out and do this national anthem protest because it's already been started. It's already a conversation. But like I said, the question is, is there going to be something done about it? Like, you can continue to kneel and do all these things, but if nobody is really trying to make the change, I think the No. 1 problem is the people who see a problem with what he's doing. Because that means you're trying to focus on what he's doing and not focus on what he's talking about. And that's the problem that we have as a whole anyway."
Green called race relations in America a "touchy subject," but said he is trying to do his part. Green is on the advisory board of RISE, a nonprofit founded in 2015 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. On its website, RISE's mission statement is "harnessing the unifying power of sport to advance race relations." Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is also on the advisory board.
