“I’m not cancelling Will Smith, I’m not off Will Smith because he slapped someone” - Draymond Green says he respects Will Smith for standing up for his wife
Golden State Warriors talisman Draymond Green was the latest high-profile athlete to voice their thoughts on the fiasco that unfolded between Will Smith and Chris Rock.
Green, speaking on his podcast The Draymond Green Show, spoke about how he will partake in the modern day cancelation culture. He mentioned how Will Smith should be allowed to make mistakes just like everyone else. Green said:
"I have nothing but respect for him for standing up for his wife. I think he could have handled it totally better, I think we all can handle things totally better. I'm not ccancelingWill Smith, I'm not off Will Smith because he slapped someone."
"The reality is we all make mistakes and we live in this world that, everyone wants to punish others for their mistakes but they want grace when they have their own mistakes."
Smith issued an apology to Chris Rock and the Academy for his behavior after the event. He was lauded by Green for not succumbing to the peer pressure and issuing an apology on stage later on in the night as he collected his award. Green continued:
"I really respected him apologizing that night and not apologizing to Chris Rock and the reason being is he hadn't even had time to really process what was going on and to go up there and apologize to Chris Rock right away because that's what people wanted to hear, I don't roll like that, I disagree 100%."
The Warriors talisman also spoke about how he doesn't condone violence at all but could understand why Will Smith did what he did in the heat of the moment. Green said:
"Violence usually doesn't end well, no matter in what shape or form it is, no matter who's carrying out the violence, it normally just doesn't end well. The way it ended in that situation is one of the best situations we ever see that end."
"So, no, I 100% don't condone violence, I 100% don't condone Will Smith going up there but I 100% feel where Will Smith was coming from because as a protector, as a provider, as the rock for your wife, as the person she turns to when everything is going wrong, you're stuck right?"
"Like, there's a split second decision for you to make in order to help make her feel good."
Draymond Green and the NBA world reacts to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock
To say that the NBA world was in shock after the moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars would be a massive understatement as the superstars of the league flooded to Twitter to make their feelings known about the altercation between two Hollywood legends on live television.
Draymond Green's national teammates like Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Kevin Love all took to the social media platform to air their thoughts on the fiasco and it naturally received a lot of attention from folks all over the globe.
The two professions have always been intertwined for quite some time now as Hollywood superstars like Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee are almost always in attendance in some of the big games the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks play in.
Either way, this is a moment that will stand the test of time as superstar Will Smith finally wins his first Oscar and yet the talking point of the night will always be him going up on stage and slapping comedian Chris Rock.