Charles Barkley and Matt Barnes Defend Draymond Green and Slam His Game 5 Suspension

Charles Barkley says it was Draymond Green's "moral obligation" to hit LeBron James in the groin.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

There are plenty of people who feel that Draymond Green had his one-game suspension for Game 5 of the NBA Finals coming to him. Green has been widely mocked for his tendency to hit players in the junk beyond coincidence, which Green seemed somewhat unapologetic for doing. And Green seemingly retaliated after LeBron James stepped over him by hitting him in the groin. 

With all that going against him, some are still riding for Green and think that the suspension was unnecessary. The Warriors think that Lebron is just being a baby. Green's teammate Marreese Speights tweeted, presumably responding to James' reaction, the following.

And Klay Thompson thinks LeBron's "feelings got hurt" for the name-calling from Green after their brief scuffle. Two other notable non-Warriors, Charles Barkley and Grizzlies guard Matt Barnes, have sided with Green regarding the fracas from Friday night.

In a Bleacher Report podcast from Sunday, Barkley trolled James by saying Green had a "moral obligation" to react the way he did since the Cavs forward disrespectfully stepped over him. "When a guy steps over you, you have a moral obligation to punch him in the balls" Barkley said. "Because that’s really disrespectful to step over a guy. You’re supposed to pop him in his junk if he steps over you like that." 

Barkley basically gave credit to Green for his retaliation as he continued his diatribe about popping 'Bron in the groin. "That’s a perfectly fine response. You got to act like you didn’t try to do it; I will admit that. When somebody steps over you, they’re doing that intentionally to rub it in your face. They’re deliberately trying to punk you in that situation."

Ayesha Curry even chimed in with subtweets implaying that James should have taken the "high road" regarding the matter.

As for Matt Barnes, he went off on Twitter to speak about why he feels Draymond should be playing in Game 5, and why LeBron was being petty not choosing his battles wisely. 

Whether or not the Warriors win the title, we should just understand that Draymond is just playing too hard for Dub Nation, which is what he's paid to do. 

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.

Latest in Sports