I’m really disappointed with the response here from his own fan base. Yeah maybe some of his mistakes have cost us things, but we would be nowhere without Draymond’s defense, basketball IQ, and play-making. I think we owe him appreciation and the benefit of the doubt.

First of all, the problem with the angry black person stereotype is more than just being called angry. Draymond does get angry sometimes, so saying that he is angry sometimes isn’t racist. The attitude that his anger is unacceptable and dangerous has very racist and colorist undertones. Take for example the shirts worn by Minnesota fans comparing him to the donkey from Shrek. Historically, comparing Black people to animals has been a tried and true form of subtle dehumanization. Also, the fact that the animal in this case is one often used for manual labor is tone deaf at best and straight up bigoted at worst.

Yes, 70% of the league is Black, but 70% if the league are not dark skinned which attracts more racist attitudes, some of which come out through the media constantly looking for ways to attack his character. Colorism is deeply ingrained in our culture, especially in the U.S.. For example, I saw a house of highlights video of the scuffle between Steph and Dylan Brooks, where Draymond stepped in to intervene and deescalate the tension between them. The title was “Draymond and Dillon Brooks go at it.” Two light-skinned Black men were the source of the conflict, yet Draymond’s name comes first in the title. And this isn’t the only example. Almost everytime things get chippy, if Draymond is anywhere within 15 ft of it, his name will be front and center even when he’s barely involved or trying to mediate. That’s the media agenda he’s talking about, and he’s justified in being upset about it.

Let’s think about Draymond’s mind for the game and passion for winning and his team. If anyone listened to his post-game interviews after game 6 v. Rockets, you’ll know that he has no problem admitting when he’s gone too far and needs to take accountability and use his support system to calm himself down. So if he’s telling us, “I try my best to be poised for my team because I know how important it is, but sometimes all of the narratives get to me because there’s a double-standard here in the way I’m being treated,” I have no reason not to believe him. Draymond is one of the best defenders in the league, and the best one on a team much smaller than most of their competitors meaning his size and physicality is key to their success. Inevitably, sometimes that’s going to be messy. Adding to that, partially because of the media narrative and partially because of his defensive chops, other players are going to come harder at him. That means that he then has to ramp up his physicality even more in order to play effective defense. I absolutely believe that he gets disproportionally targeted by other players, refs and the media.

This doesn’t mean that every call is invalid! Just that other players get away with way more than he does. Other players get to be angry without having it blasted all over. Stop treating him like a child who needs someone to “get him under control”. Like Jimmy said last night, he’s a grown man, and he knows what we need him to do. But he’s also human, and anyone in his situation would crack sometimes. I think the main reason ppl in this sub are so upset is because we could lose him for a game, which I get! But let’s focus that energy on recognizing that’s because of how much he does for us, instead of contributing to the cycle of tearing him down that gets us in this situation to begin with.