50 Cent has defended Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green after he was suspended by the NBA for punching Jusuf Nurkić.
In a post on Instagram on Wednesday, 50 shared a clip of Green’s violent outburst and wrote: “This fool is my favorite player, WTF Is wrong wit him. [shrug emoji] that was a mistake, I will apologize for him. [raised eyebrow emoji] come on it’s a physical game.”
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In a game between the Warriors and Phoenix Suns on Tuesday (December 11), Green was ejected for swinging at and hitting Nurkić in the face.
After five previous suspensions handed out by the NBA for various altercations, he has now been suspended indefinitely by the league.
In an interview after the game, the four-time NBA champion apologized for hitting his opponent.
“I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf,” he said. “Even though I didn’t intend to hit him, I sell calls with my arms. I don’t fall to sell a call. I’m not a flopper.
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“I was just selling the call because he was grabbing and pulling my hip. So, I spun away. And unfortunately, I hit him.”
Nurkić himself commented: “I don’t know, man. I was behind the play. What’s going on [with] him, I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he [did] not try to choke me.
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“But at the same time, it had nothing to do with basketball. I’m just out there trying to play basketball, they’re swinging… Hopefully whatever he got in his life, it gets better.”
It is now expected that Green will miss the remainder of the NBA season, with the league saying the small forward needs to “meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.”
The league added that the decision to suspend Green indefinitely was due to his multiple previous acts of unsportsmanlike conduct.
Earlier this season, Draymond put Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert in a headlock during a game and was subsequently suspended for five games.
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The last NBA star to receive an indefinite suspension was Gilbert Arenas in 2010 who was reprimanded for bringing firearms into the team locker room.
Arenas, who was playing for the Washington Wizards at the time, eventually served a 50-game suspension and was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house for carrying an unlicensed gun.
