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<\/a><\/p>\nPublic reports regarding the incident, however, suggested that Green faced potential discipline, but that it would be handled internally. So, I asked Behrens if she could clarify the \u201csufficient\u201d discipline that the Warriors had levied.<\/p>\n
In response, Behrens stated, \u201cThe warriors suspended him and it was made public\u2026\u201d and that the NBA believes that \u201cwas the right outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem with Behrens\u2019 statement, however, is that public reports stated that Green \u201cwas fined but not suspended<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n I pointed this out to Behrens, and she changed her response to me: \u201cDraymond was kept out of practice for a number of days and then fined by the team.\u201d<\/p>\n I followed up and asked Behrens how Green\u2019s actions and the NBA\u2019s response fit within the league\u2019s social responsibility principles \u2013 what did that result in?<\/p>\n What took Behrens so long to take action against Green?<\/p>\n Why did Behrens not even know what discipline \u2013 if any \u2013 was levied the first time around?<\/p>\n Why would Behrens block someone for asking about the NBA\u2019s role in social responsibility?<\/p>\n All signs point to complete ineptitude in her role. Nothing more, nothing less.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s move on to officiating \u2013 and the man responsible for NBA officials \u2013 Albert Sanders, Jr.<\/p>\n Sanders is the NBA\u2019s Executive Vice President, Head of Referee Operations. You can learn more about him in this lovely puff piece written by Dan Woike<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Woike, Sanders took his job with the NBA \u201c[b]ecause the rules matter.\u201d Which is ironic, considering the fact that Sanders\u2019 officials consistently fail to enforce the rules.<\/p>\n Now, before diving deep into the failures of Sanders and his officials, let\u2019s provide some context for these referees. NBA referees are touted as being the best of the best. That, presumably, is why they are paid between $250,000 and $550,000 per year. They are paid very well to perform in a high-profile job in \u2013 as referenced above \u2013 a billion-dollar industry.<\/p>\n This, of course, makes their constant failures \u2013 and the lack of any discipline or transparency from Sanders \u2013 particularly frustrating.<\/p>\n Now, I could post video after video of NBA officials missing calls, but that does not seem productive. Even the most egregious misses, in theory, can be explained by the game speed, angles, etc. So, for purposes of this article, we\u2019ll give officials the benefit of the doubt for on-floor calls.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s focus on more objective standards.<\/p>\n First, the pool reports that are done by NBA officials after certain games and numerous instances where NBA referees have provided explanations\/answers to pool questions that are inconsistent with the NBA Rulebook.<\/p>\n Why focus on that? Because these are irrefutable instances where NBA referees demonstrate a complete lack of understanding when it comes to the NBA Rulebook \u2013 a circumstance that, for individuals being paid as much as they are and who are as imperative to the game as they are, should be unacceptable to Albert Sanders, Jr.<\/p>\n On January 10, 2026, Jason Kidd was ejected from a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Dallas Mavericks, which the Bulls ended up winning, 125-107. After the game, Crew Chief Scott Foster (his existence in the NBA is an entirely different story\u2026quite literally<\/a>) was asked by a pool reporter the basis for the ejection. Foster\u2019s response: \u201cHe used profanity toward an official on two separate occasions and was given a technical foul for each occasion<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In the NBA Rulebook, can profanity lead to a technical foul? Yes, it can.<\/p>\n But \u201cCursing at or blaspheming an official shall not be considered the only cause for imposing technical fouls.\u201d (emphasis added.)<\/p>\n So, Foster states that Kidd was ejected for using profanity at an NBA official on two occasions, but the NBA Rulebook provides that such conduct is not even sufficient grounds for one technical foul, let alone an ejection. Objectively, Scott Foster\u2019s response to the pool reporter\u2019s question is inconsistent with the NBA Rulebook.<\/p>\n While Scott Foster may have been besties with Tim Donaghy and, therefore, of questionable ethical makeup in the first place, he has been an NBA referee for more than 30 years, and his inability to grasp the rules is inexcusable.<\/p>\n In any other workplace, such incompetence would not be tolerated. In the NBA, it seems as though it is almost celebrated.<\/p>\n You all may recall this one. On December 14, 2025, LeBron James manhandled a referee in a game against the Phoenix Suns and what came of it? Zero. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.<\/p>\n And why was that, you may ask?<\/p>\n Well, according to Tyler Ford (I know, I know\u2026), \u201cDuring instant replay review, we have the ability to review all unsportsmanlike acts. There was no unsportsmanlike act observed for making contact with a referee.\u201d<\/p>\n Once again, an NBA official makes a statement that is entirely inconsistent with the NBA Rulebook, which states:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s break this language down, shall we?<\/p>\n According to the dictionary (yes, it needs to be this elementary for NBA officials), \u201cshall\u201d means, \u201cexpressing an instruction or command.\u201d In other words, if someone \u201cshall\u201d do something, they are required to do something.<\/p>\n Applying the foregoing to the NBA Rulebook means that an NBA referee must issue a technical foul if a player makes contact with a referee because, by definition, contacting a referee is an \u201cunsportsmanlike act.\u201d The Rulebook does not provide a subjective aspect where the official can decide whether or not an \u201cunsportsmanlike act\u201d exists.<\/p>\n But, apparently, Tyler Ford believes that this subjective element exists. In reality, however, LeBron should have been assessed a technical foul for contacting a game official. Tyler Ford\u2019s explanation indicates that either (1) he expressly ignores the NBA Rulebook and calls games on his own prerogative (which is not entirely out of the question), or (2) he does not know the NBA Rulebook.<\/p>\n Either way, Ford\u2019s nonsensical explanation is another demonstration of Albert Sanders, Jr.\u2019s failures as an NBA executive.<\/p>\n OK\u2026this one is not from a pool report, but it is equally objective.<\/p>\n How many times have we seen a referee allow a challenge by an opposing team after a member of the Phoenix Suns has already been given the ball at the free throw line?<\/p>\n Well, guess what? The NBA Rulebook says that cannot happen.<\/p>\n Not to belabor the point \u2013 because it is explained in the tweet \u2013 but, under the NBA Rulebook, to initiate a Challenge, the team challenging the call \u201cmust call a legal timeout immediately after the call\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Draymond Green attacks his teammate in 2022.The NBA\u2019s Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs, admittedly, does nothing about it \u2013 in fact, does not even know what discipline was levied by the Warriors.When I ask whether Green\u2019s conduct falls within the purview of her job, Behrens blocks me.One year later, Green attacks Nukic in the middle of a game and THEN the NBA \u2013 and Behrens \u2013 decide something needs to be done.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n