A reporter who tried to goad Draymond Green into making an insensitive, controversial comment about the floods in Houston will not be around to ask such questions anymore. Henry Wofford of CSN Bay Area is reporting that the reporter was fired shortly after the press conference.
The reporter who continued to ask Draymond Green questions about the Houston floods was fired about 1 hour after the Game 4 press conference
— Henry Wofford (@HWoffordSports) April 26, 2016
Green was justifiably annoyed by the repeated questioning and wasn’t afraid to say so, unleashing a calm yet strong tirade on the reporter while simultaneously showing support for the people of Houston (watch here).
Green should be commended for his words, both in support of Houston and against the reporter.
While it’s a dramatic step and shouldn’t be done lightly, it’s also hard to say that the reporter shouldn’t have been fired. Questions like that not only make the reporter and his publication look bad, but really put a blemish on the entire profession.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a reporter trying to get a player to make a controversial statement that will grab headlines and sell papers, but it should be limited to the game itself. Trying to goad Green into making a comment about James Harden, Dwight Howard, the Rockets poor second half effort, or anything else that’s happened on the floor is completely fair game.
Trying to sell papers by tricking (or trying to trick) someone into controversial comments about a genuine tragedy, on the other hand, is completely foul.