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Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — Following Draymond Green‘s $25,000 fine for cursing at a fan earlier this week, the fan defended Green and even pledged to match the fine for charity.
Green was fined by the NBA on Thursday for “directing obscene language toward a fan” during the Warriors’ 116-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks the night before.
Shortly after the fine was announced, Dallas resident Alykhan Rehmatullah took to Twitter to name himself as the fan who had the exchange with Green and even defended the Warriors star, writing in his tweet, “Shouldn’t be like that, we were just having fun. I’ll match the $25k to your favorite charity or NBA Cares. Your call.”
Rehmatullah told ESPN on Friday night that he didn’t agree with the fine because he “didn’t take offense” to Green’s language.
“Because of that, we can make light of the situation, do some good, make a donation,” Rehmatullah said. “Make it charitable … [fan decorum] is a sensitive topic, but it’s not always as controversial as it’s made out to be.”
Told about Rehmatullah’s pledge, Green told ESPN he thought it was “a cool gesture,” adding, “You don’t see that happen.”
The incident occurred with 11:20 remaining in the Warriors’ game against the Mavericks. Rehmatullah said the teams were lining up for a free throw attempt, and he said he began making fun of Green’s shoes.
According to Green, there were “a lot of name-callings.” Eventually, Green turned around and told the fan to “sit down, shut up and watch the f—ing game.”
Green didn’t reach out to Rehmatullah on Friday but said he was planning to.
“The money should go somewhere,” he said of Rehmatullah’s proposal to match his fine. “It should help someone’s kid.”
Green also addressed the issue of fan decorum, which has been a big topic in the league the past few seasons. Arenas around the league have implemented bans on certain fans who engage in inappropriate behavior, but incidents have continued.
“I have been around way too long,” Green said. “I don’t have much faith in anything holding [fans] accountable and changing fan decorum.”
Source: www.espn.com