Draymond Green Fined $25K for Ripping Refs for Having Personal Issue with Him

The NBA fined Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green $25,000 after he criticized the state of officiating throughout the league, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday.

"It's bad. It's horrible," Green said to The Athletic's Anthony Slater (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area). "It's really bad. I don't know why it is. But I think it's ridiculous. It's ruining the game. ... It should be one of, if not the main priority, to be solved. It definitely should."

The two-time All-Star added he believes referees have taken up personal grudges against certain NBA players, himself included.

Although Green's 2.6 fouls per game are tied for 54th in the NBA, he leads the league in technical fouls. His two ejections are tied for second-most as well.

Most recently, Green was ejected in Golden State's 141-128 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 30 after he picked up two technical fouls. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr disagreed with the referees' decision.

"What I saw was he got called for the foul, and he went like that," Kerr said while making a waving motion with his hand, per the Mercury News' Melissa Rohlin. "Now, he might have said a magic word in there somewhere, but normally you don’t get kicked out for that. You’ve got to be pretty demonstrative, normally. But nothing I can do about it."

Criticizing NBA referees in public almost always results in punishment by the league, but Green's comments largely echo those of Michele Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.

According to Wojnarowski, Roberts met with Lee Seham, the general counsel for the National Basketball Referees Association, in December.

Seham argued the NBA hasn't done enough to curb players' aggressive language directed toward officials, while Roberts discussed how she had spoken with players who had grown frustrated with the way in which referees interacted with them on the court.

"Our players also complained about being ignored, told to 'shut up,' told to 'move' or, in extreme circumstances, hit with a technical," she said.

During his interview with Slater, Green suggested the NBA should hire all new referees to replace the current ones, which probably isn't going to happen.

The fact neither the referees nor the players appear to be happy with the current situation, however, will likely force the league to seriously evaluate the issue—whether during the season or in the summer after the conclusion of the playoffs.