Dray takes accountability for 'wrong' choice of words on recent podcast | Draymond Green Show

What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. This is episode— this is not an episode. What this is is a very impromptu episode. So I take that back. Yes, it's an episode, but it's not your typical— uh, once or twice a week that we go. I know, uh, this is probably going to pop up on your notification like, uh, the Draymond Green Show just released a podcast, and you're probably going to look like, what is this? And then you'll probably look and see that it's 5 or 10 minutes or 15 minutes long, and you're like, I really don't understand what this is. And so what I'll tell you what this is, and I'll explain to you why you're getting this impromptu episode of the Draymond Green Show, and that is because this is One thing that when I speak on new media, the number one thing about the new media is accountability. And you can't speak accountability if you can't hold yourself accountable. And if you can't be held accountable, and that's what I'm all about, that's what I stand for. So I am going to hold myself accountable, but I also am going to recognize the accountabilities that others are holding me to and that I should be held to. Extremely appreciate. And so here's what this episode is about. This episode is about the episode that we released, um, Sunday, which was right before the day before we recorded the episode with Old Man and the Three with JJ and Tommy. I released the, the episode that kind of set everything on fire And I absolutely enjoyed doing the episode, and I thought it was an absolutely great hit. I thought I brought great content because for me, this is all about bringing great content to our audience, um, sharing whatever it is that you feel, getting things off your chest. And so I'm extremely excited to have this platform, and due to this platform, I'm able to give this impromptu message And this platform does not happen without you, without our audience. So again, as always, I say thank you for tuning in. The other day when I was speaking, I used a word that carries a racial connotation. It— and when I use the word, I could have very well replaced the word with clown. I could have very well replaced the word with um, idiot, moron. I could have replaced the word with anything and continued in stride. And the word that I'm speaking of is I use the word coon. As you know, for me, I don't hide behind anything. I don't stand behind, and I don't— I stand on what I mean and what I say. And so the reason being, or the reason being for this episode, is for me to come and address that. And the reason I wanna address it, like I said, as you know, the New Media, we stand on what we say, we stand on what we believe. And so the reason I wanna address that is because I think in understanding and growing in this lane, for me, I'm still a rookie in this lane. I don't take that for granted. I know that, I understand that, which is why I'll reach out to a Stephen A. Smith and ask his thoughts on something, which is why I'll reach out to a Mark Spears and ask their thoughts on something, or the list goes on and on. I think those relationships are important. And in growing in their space, I think it's important that you have guys that you can turn to and ask questions to. So I'm very appreciative of those guys and their tutelage that they've given me along this journey. Now, I said all of that to say, I use the word coon, and when I use the word In understanding, I think the area of growth for me is understanding that in having this platform, there comes a responsibility. And the responsibility, there's several responsibilities, and to each his own. I have a different responsibility in this platform than Stephen A. Smith had. And Stephen A. Smith has a different responsibility with his platform than Colin Cowherd has. And I totally understand that. And so I'm taking full responsibility because like I told, I had a long conversation the other day, yesterday, last night with Commissioner Adam Silver, maybe 45 to 50 minutes. Prior to that, I went into the league office yesterday here in New York to visit Joe Dumars, who, raised me, who's like a father to me, who the guy who showed me that there was a life outside of Saginaw that I never imagined was that, that I could reach, that, that I never imagined could be my life. Due to my relationship with Jordan Dumars, Joe's son, I was able to see totally different things that I had ever seen in my life from 16 or 17 years old on through the draft and to now to see Joe D and how successful he was and how he's gone about his business has been so important to me and my growth. And so I went in to meet Joe the other day at the office, who's now the executive VP of NBA operations. And we're just sitting there chopping it up and we're talking. We probably sat there for 2 and a half hours and it was so great to catch up as I hadn't seen him to catch up in a year or two. And so it was so great to catch up and we caught up on a lot of things, but we spoke about the word and I was sharing with Joe D like, wow, that is, that's very interesting because I didn't think about it in that perspective. And although, no, I'm not like, no, I'm no idiot. Like I do understand that the word coon is used in a racial way. Yeah. However, I also think growing up culturally, things are different and we all grow up in different places. We all use words different. And so for me, when I use the word, like I said, I could have very well replaced it with clown. Growing up the way I grew up, or not even the way I grew up, but where I grew up, when you use, you know, you may say to one of your boys like, yo, you like, stop acting like a coon. And for me, It's like, stop acting corny. Like, you're on some weird type stuff. Like, that's wack. Like, you don't have to do that. That's wack. And so for me, in using the word, that's what I was implying. However, in understanding that everyone didn't grow up in Saginaw, Michigan, everyone didn't grow up with my friends, this is such a huge moment for growth and learning for me as I said, and being a rookie in this business and understanding that that word does not mean the same thing to everyone. And there are a lot of people out there who's going to see that and be like, ah, that's a racial thing. And as someone who stands against racism, who, you know, has stood against it for years, who— And is not afraid to get out in front of it, I can admit right here that I was wrong. And Regardless of how I may use the word with my friends or how, you know, that word may be perceived anywhere else in the world, it was wrong here. And that I will acknowledge. And I'm so appreciative of the conversations that I had with Joe D and that I had with Adam. It stems so much further than just using this word. I mean, it end up about the league and about the growth of the league and so many different things. And it was absolutely absolutely incredible. But I wanted to acknowledge this because I play in a league and I represent, and not only an organization, but a league that stands out against racism, bigotry, that stands up for Brittney Griner, that supports players in anything that they want to support. I don't take that for granted. I don't take for granted the NBA's support of this podcast and how well this podcast has done and how important the support of the league is. I don't take any of those things for granted. And so this impromptu episode is to speak on though, is to speak on that. And it won't be long. It's something that I wanted to get out to you guys, um, to share the way I feel, I feel and felt in the moment and moving forward, the growth and learning experience that this was for me. I told Adam last night, I said, Adam, it's frustrating for me because I felt like that was such a good episode. And to know that it's been marred by the use of one word is very frustrating for me. It's also very exciting for me because like I said, this is an opportunity for me to grow. And so what I told Adam was, I said, this reminds me a lot of my first time on the Arena when I was, um, when we were interviewing Messiah Jury and I asked him the question about Black Lives Matter on their bus. And what I meant to say didn't quite come off that way. And it was such a huge learning experience for me. I felt that I grew so much from that particular instance. And this is another one of those instances for me to grow and continue to learn. And I don't take that for granted because ultimately what I want in this space is the same thing I want in the space of basketball, and that is simply to be great. That is simply to bring something great to people's homes, to bring something great to your radio, to bring something great to your phone, your iPad, wherever it is that you watch your content, that you take your content in. Yeah. My goal is to bring something great to you, and so this is an opportunity for me to improve. And so like I said, as someone who represents a league who has a very powerful voice in a league that stands against all of those things, I am doing this to make it known that I stand on the— I stand on the use of that, of the word that I use. And although it wasn't used for me, and the way that it came off, I acknowledge that it meant that to you. And because it meant that to you, that's ultimately what matters at the end of the day, is what you took it as, because ultimately this is for you. And so I wanted to come here and say, for those out there that are supporters of this show, supporters of the NBA, supporters of— Draymond Green. Basketball as a whole, or athletes or whatever, because I am someone who represents all those groups. My intentions were to never offend you in any way. And so this is— I wanted to bring that to you. I wanted to let you know that that wasn't my intentions. I was wrong for that. I will be better there. I will continue to grow. I will continue to learn. I'm not asking for some type of, oh man, you're okay, or it's no big deal. Or if you're going to go crazy and say, ah, I don't believe you, or this is whatever it is, I take that in stride because again, the word came out of my mouth, not anyone else's. And so I can stand on that. I appreciate everyone's support. I appreciate everyone who reached out on Twitter and said something. Draymond Green. About it because I don't read Twitter. But then I was scrolling and I saw one person say, man, that was great. And then they mentioned the word and da da da, and I'm like, hmm. And so that was the first time it actually caught my attention. I was like, man, do people really think that? So I started scrolling, I wanted to see more, and I'm like, hmm, that's interesting. And so then I went to talk to Joe D and we had the conversation and it was absolutely incredible. And so again, I want to say thank you for your subscriptions. Thank you for your listens, your views, for your support. Thank you for your understanding. I don't take that for granted one bit. And I want to send a big thank you to Adam Silver and Joe Dumars and Michael Levine, who I also had a conversation with, and just the opportunity in helping me grow. Mm-hmm. In a space that I want to be great, but more importantly, helping me grow as a young man. As— because that is important. If you're not growing, you're declining. And for me, growth is important. And most importantly, it's important that I continue to bring you what it is that you want here. And that means the world to me. I know that means the world to Jackson. So I wanna say thank you for listening to this impromptu message. Taking the time outta your day, I don't take that for granted. Live from the Draymond Green Show, that's a wrap. Peace. Peace.