Warriors' Draymond Green: NBA Players Are 'Vulnerable' in Interactions with Fans

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green believes athletes are in tough spot when dealing with hostile fans.

After Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry was shoved by a fan sitting courtside during Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals on Wednesday, Green said Thursday that players are "vulnerable" in such situations, per ESPN.com's Nick Friedell:

"I think players are definitely vulnerable. Any time you're in a situation where you can do no right, like in defending yourself, you're vulnerable. So if a fan says whatever they want to you and then you say something back, you're fined. If Kyle was to then hit back, a lot more than a fine would have then happened to Kyle.

"In a situation where you're essentially helpless, you're always going to be vulnerable in anything in life. So it's not just on the basketball court. In any situation you can't help yourself, you're vulnerable. So I think as players we definitely are."

Early in the fourth quarter of Game 3, Lowry found himself jumping into the Oracle Arena stands while trying to prevent a rebound from going out of bounds. As he attempted to return to the court after crashing into the first couple rows of fans, Lowry was shoved by a fan in the front row:

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That fan was escorted from his seat following the incident.

Lowry has since revealed that the fan also used expletives:

It later came out that the fan was Mark Stevens, a minority owner of the Warriors. After an investigation of the incident, Stevens was banned from attending NBA games and attending team activities for one year and was also fined $500,000.

Stevens' actions have prompted a number of stars around the league, not just Green, to come to Lowry's defense and speak out against disrespectful fans.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James took to Instagram to say, "There’s absolutely no place in our BEAUTIFUL game for that AT ALL." Meanwhile, Golden State superstar Stephen Curry also commended his opponent:

There has not been a repeat of the "Malice at the Palace," but this is not the first time this season that the player-fan relationship has been under the microscope.

In March, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook had a heated confrontation (warning: linked video contains profanity) with a Utah Jazz fan during a game in Salt Lake City. Westbrook said the fan directed "disrespectful" and "racial" comments at him. The Jazz permanently banned the fan.