Draymond Green Takes Out of Context Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo Using N-Word when 9 Years Old

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Chris “Mad Dog” Russo jokingly told Warriors forward Draymond Green to “shut up and play” last week on First Take, and Green is now using the comment as an opportunity to paint Russo as a racist white man.

Green first accused Russo of spewing “racist undertones” on the Draymond Green Show Thursday. But not satisfied with the response, Green next dug up and took out-of-context an old tweet that told the story of Russo using the N-word when he was a child.

In a conversation with OutKick, Grant Napear provided more details, saying that he posted this story after Russo reminded him on-air about the role Napear’s father had in his life. Russo was 9 years old at the time he used the word and suggests he never has since. Russo is now 62.

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Green, of course, doesn’t care about the context. This goes beyond the common practice of race-baiting.

Green is trying to destroy Russo’s career by portraying him as an N-word-user. The media rewards those who lead the torpedoing of a career.

Unfortunately, because fellow sports media members and executives won’t bother looking into the origin of Napear’s tweet, it just might work.

This began on the Wednesday edition of First Take when J.J. Redick interrupted a fun back-and-forth between Russo and Stephen A. Smith. Redick, pretending to be upset, accused Russo of using “undertones,” that must be where Green got the word and channeling his inner Fox News punditry by telling Green to stay quiet.

JJ REDICK GETS EMOTIONAL WHEN CHRIS RUSSO TELLS DRAYMOND GREEN TO ‘SHUT UP AND PLAY’

Here’s the segment:

Redick saw a lane, a chance to prove to the industry that he’s woke and anti-racist enough to sit on an ESPN desk. Verified Twitter accounts have since lauded Redick for his bravery. They say he stood up to a dog-whistling older white guy. The courage.

Green is looking for the same reaction, one he’s likely to receive.

Anyone that has followed Russo’s career knows that telling Green to “shut up” has no undertones to it. It’s vintage Mad Dog.

Part of his brand is railing against the younger generation for talking and tweeting too much. Often, Russo tells athletes of all races to “shut up” in the same playful tone he used while discussing Green.

Stephen A. Smith, a longtime Russo listener, said as much following Redick’s scene of performative outrage.

“Let’s calm down because I’m glad you pointed out, JJ, that it’s not a race thing because with ‘Doggy’ it’s not,” Smith said.

“You know, you do have old school fans that lament the fact that you got a lot of folks out there that are just saying ‘enough already’ like he does. Now people like me and you, we think differently, but there’s a whole bunch, I encounter it all the time, there’s a whole bunch of ‘Mad Dog’ Russos running around, I’m here to tell you right now.”

Knowing that Green and others would look to capitalize on Redick’s ambush of Russo, Smith called into Russo’s radio show later that day to defend him again.

Take a listen:

If there was an ounce of validity to Russo using racial undertones, Smith would have been the first one to point it out. There isn’t.

It speaks volumes to how out of line Redick and Green are when you see Stephen A. Smith rushing to the defense of a white guy accused of racism.

Green ought to take the tweet down and clarify how inaccurately he is depicting a story involving Russo using the N-word. But he won’t. Green hopes to ride this wave and perhaps secure a job at ESPN when he retires from the NBA.

Maybe Green could end up on First Take. Because at this rate, ESPN will cut ties with Russo completely. ESPN, like Green, shall never waste an opportunity to virtue signal.

In the meantime, would Draymond Green just shut up and play?

Chris RussoDraymond GreenDraymond Green ShowESPNFirst TakeGrant NapearJJ RedicknbaStephen A. Smith

Written by Bobby Burack

Bobby Burack covers media, politics, and sports at OutKick.

9 Comments

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  1. OK, so the goal of Race Baiters ‘R Us is to flush ALL “white folks” out of sportswriting, sports commentating, sports broadcasting / sports media in all its forms. That seems clear enough. And thus far appears to be somewhat successful. At least as regards those sports where “blacks athletes” dominate … i.e. Football and Basketball…. both pro and college.
    .
    Getting rid of white ownership and white management / coaches going hand-in-hand with the above.
    .
    Why not run off “white fans” while they are at it? That exodus is already taking place. Be careful what you wish for Race Baiters ‘R Us …
    ..

  4. A sure way to failure will be if and when blacks are running things. Look at the continent of Africa. The only decent, halfway modern countries are those that were colonized by Whites. The rest, as DJT succinctly put it, are shit holes.

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