The NBA continues to wage a PR battle over the controversial decision not to suspend Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green after he kicked OKC Thunder center Steven Adams below the belt during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Commissioner Adam Silver says it was no easy decision, but thinks the right one was made.
Silver also shot down any suggestion that the League prefers Golden State to face off against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals.
Uhhhh @NBA what’s going on here? https://t.co/seWy1pJOST pic.twitter.com/C7Lm3h6AZs
— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) May 29, 2016
Per the Bay Area News Group:
“I acknowledge that that was a close decision on upgrading Draymond’s kick to a Flagrant 2, but not suspending him for (Game 4),” Silver told ESPN Radio on Sunday. “I will say that we do full investigations around those plays the next day. We interview the officials. We interview the players who are involved, and ultimately we made a decision that he did not intentionally try to kick him in the groin, but it was a reckless act, and it was upgraded to a Flagrant 2.”
Silver acknowledged he has heard the conspiracy theory that the league prefers Golden State reach the Finals instead of Oklahoma City. […] “I hear it, and it’s the most sensitive issue for me, and it goes to the core integrity of the league and frankly to my integrity,” Silver said.
“Even from a business standpoint, it would be impossible to predict which Finals would have a greater following. It depends on how many games, how close the games are. I can only thus sort of swear to the world that we do the best we can and that we don’t prefer one market or one team over another.”
