Draymond Green is on a spree of exploring the walls of NBA media. Apart from his weekly podcast, Green is spending his time on TNT with Ernie Johnson and co while also appearing on podcasts hosted by others. Recently, Shaquille O’Neal released an episode with Draymond where the two spoke in depth about the game, their experiences and several hypothetical scenarios. In one such conversation, Draymond spoke about how NBA Media has treated him; in particular, he spoke about First Take’s Stephen A Smith.

In a heated exchange on the podcast, Green accused the media of unfair treatment. He particularly criticized Stephen A. Smith for not defending him enough. He said “At not one point did you say, ‘Well, y’all are saying this person is f**ked up and this person need help. Now, I know the person. Say what you want about the basketball player, that’s fine. But I know the person.” Clearly, the NBA Star was pissed that his good friend Stephen A Smith didn’t take a solid stand. He added that he had lost a lot of respect for people.

24 hours later, Stephen A Smith responded on Live TV and he did not mince his words. Smith retaliated, “Draymond Green just went on a National Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, my brother said that he lost respect for me, Well, I’ve now lost respect for him.” He did not take well to Green’s words and went on to passionately defend himself. “I love this brother I got mad love for Draymond Green. I have an abundance of receipts where I can show you. How many times have I spoken up for Draymond? It’s been countless times,” he said.

An agitated Stephen Smith then went on to talk about Green’s unfortunate history with ejections. “It’s been countless times. This man has been ejected from games 20 times in his career,” he said, attacking his former friend. He then defended himself against Green’s accusations. “When he hit (Yusuf) Nurkic, it was me on the air. When you have people talking about anger management, about he needs help, I was the one that said, “Yo, that’s gone too damn far”. I was the one that had a problem with Kevin Durant, saying “I hope he gets the help he needs”, I said, that’s a brother, that’s another teammate, you know he’s a black man.. How are you gonna say something like that,” said Stephen. He even claimed that this was not the first time a star player had tried to get him fired. He said, “I know what star players, who remain nameless, have done to try to get me fired.”

Even though Draymond Green’s stance is clear, Smith is standing his ground too. Green did not just ‘lose respect’ for Smith but also for several other people that he did not mention. Hearing those comments about himself had a heavy negative impact on the player. He discussed his emotions at the time on Shaq’s podcast. But what prompted the comments that Smith reportedly made? Draymond has had multiple verbal and physical altercations on-court through his career and especially this season. The public response to which has not been in his favour.

Draymond Green’s public backlash

This season, Green was the center of attention due to his on-court incidents. He grabbed Rudy Gobert in a chokehold in a match against the Minnesota Timberwolves and all the players had to intervene. And then, he got suspended for swinging and hitting Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic. On the same podcast episode, Green opened up about how the comments from fans and analysts had affected him. Smith being one of them. “It took me through a range of emotions though, like it pissed me off. It made me sad. It made me just sit and think, took me to dark places,” said Draymond.

He even admitted to the impact the situation had on his four kids who were seemingly worried about their father after hearing the news about him. He said, “When it starts to extend to my kids I’m like, listen … these are claims on my name that has no factual evidence.” But Smith thinks otherwise. On the same ESPN live, Smith said that Green himself had told the league office that he was not doing well. “He felt like he needed to get himself together, that he wasn’t right, I know this,” said Smith.

With so many conflicting narratives, it is hard to pick a side or deduce who is being honest. Even though Green has closed the book on the duo’s friendship, Smith still wishes him well. “I’ve spoken religiously for him on his behalf without him asking, because I know the brother personally. I believe in him and I think he’s gonna be a star in this industry.”

This is not the first friendship that the league has seen crumble. This ongoing beef also highlights the often contentious relationship between players and the media. Whether the duo’s back-and-forth escalates or simmers down, one thing is certain; the Green-Smith saga is far from over.