Green offers apology for punching Poole

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green faced the media Saturday morning and apologized for his role in Wednesday’s physical altercation with teammate Jordan Poole at Chase Center.

Footage obtained by TMZ on Friday showed Green throwing a punch at Poole near the baseline at practice. Once the video went viral, Green said he didn’t address the situation on his podcast because he didn’t want to “hide” from his actions and that he would own his mistakes. His news conference lasted nearly 40 minutes.

“I was wrong for my actions that took place on Wednesday,” he said, “and for that I have apologized to my team, I have apologized to Jordan and I wanted to take that a step further: With the event yesterday with the video leaking, there is a huge embarrassment that comes with that, not only for myself, as I was the one who committed that action … but the embarrassment that Jordan has to deal with, and this team has to deal with, this organization has to deal with, but also Jordan’s family.”

Green announced that he will step away from the team for a few days to focus on himself and allow Poole and his teammates to heal, a decision head coach Steve Kerr said was reached mutually. It’s unclear how long Green’s absence will last. Green said he expects to play in the Warriors’ season opener on Oct. 18, but understands that decision will ultimately be made by the team — a conversation he said is ongoing.

“We’ll figure out and feel our way through what’s best and we’ll go from there,” Green said.

Kerr said Thursday, before the video was made public, that Green would return to practice on Saturday, and general manager Bob Myers had said he did not expect him Green to miss any games. The Warriors’ next preseason game is Sunday against the Lakers at Chase Center.

Green said his altercation with Poole didn’t stem from impending contract negotiations. He said the flare up came from events in his personal life that spilled out at practice.

“I can assure you that I don’t count other people’s pockets, No. 1 … the way I was raised, that is simply hating another man’s situation and that’s something you just don’t do,” Green said. “That had absolutely nothing to do with anything.

“I love Jordan Poole, that’s my guy. I will still ride for Jordan. I will still advocate for Jordan. I will still do whatever I can to make Jordan’s job easier, to make Jordan look good, to get him the things he wants out of basketball that I can help from a teammate’s perspective. That’s that. My feelings toward Jordan do not change.”

When asked about the banter between him and Poole that ultimately led to the altercation, Green said the specifics “could possibly change opinions.” However, he declined to share additional details and continued to acknowledge his own mistakes.

“As a human being we make mistakes,” Green said. “I made a huge mistake and I own that. To try to get someone to understand myself, or my point of view, I think is unnecessary.”