Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr went off on the referees for how they respectively handled incidents involving Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks in the two recent games against the Phoenix Suns.
After Saturday's win over the Suns, Kerr was asked about Green's ejection and said it was wrong because the veteran forward got two technical fouls, the second one for arguing a call which to his marching orders from the game.
Warriors held to double standard after dirty play from Dillon Brooks
Green's ejection came on the heels of Thursday night's contest against the Suns in which Brooks basically punched Stephen Curry in the stomach late in the game. Brooks was assessed a Flagrant 1, but he was not kicked out of the game or suspended for his actions which clearly ticked Kerr off.
"So, apparently you’re now allowed, this is my take, you are now allowed to premeditate a punch of any shooter who’s left defenseless, you can now take a swing at him and know you’re just gonna get a flagrant 1," Kerr said of the matter.
He also pointed out that Brooks committed a dirty play against the Warriors a few years ago when he fouled Gary Payton, caused an elbow injury that Kerr called "one of the dirtiest plays I’ve ever seen."
Brooks has a reputation as a dirty player, but obviously Green ha very similar reputation throughout the league. It is not completely unearned as Green has clearly crossed the line a number of times, both with opponents and even with guys on his own team.
However, referees are supposed to officiate everyone the same way which means they need to call it as it is. Clearly, Green and the Warriors are held to a different standard as the refs are much quicker to kick Green out of a contest than they are with other players.
A number of other players can argue and whine to the officials all game long, yet do not necessarily get tossed for it. The refs often seem all too willing to eject Green, leaving the Warriors short-handed as they're without one of their best defensive players who is integral to the team.
Thankfully, the Warriors were able to beat the Suns even without Green, and perhaps the unfair ejection even helped the Warriors rally as they outscored by 17 over the final three periods.
It was a key win for Golden State who, with a range of inconsistent performances so far this season, are still seemingly evaluating who exactly they are. They're going to have to figure it out quickly though if they want to maintain pace with their rivals and ultimately be heard from in the Western Conference during the playoffs.