Charles Barkley Apologizes For Draymond Green Comments After Green and His Mother Call Him Out: “What I Said Was Inappropriate. I Would Never Punch an NBA Player”

On Tuesday, during the Golden State Warriors’ Game 2 telecast on TNT, Charles Barkley made a few comments about the Warriors’ Draymond Green as the broadcast crew watched highlights of the boisterous forward’s confrontation with Pelicans’ Rajon Rondo.

“I just want somebody to punch him in the face,” Barkley said of the incident, which prompted Green to fire back after his team’s 121-116 win in the Western Conference semifinals.

“A lot of guys talk on TV,” Green said of Barkley’s comment. “If you feel that strongly about something, he’s even seen me a million times, then punch me in my face when you see me. If you’re not going to punch me in my face when you see me, then shut up. It’s no different than somebody sitting behind a computer screen, tweeting, ‘I’ll knock you out,’ and you never see him in life.”

“He’s seen me a bunch of times. Punch me in the face when you see me, or if not, no one cares what you would have done. You’re old and it is what it is. You ain’t going to punch me when you see me, then stop talking about it, period,” he said.

Although Green ended his comments at the time, he elaborated later on with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, saying, “I think it’s pretty sad.”

“It’s probably something that needs to…. when you look at the president of TNT, David Levy, which I know well, it’s kind of embarrassing on their behalf…I’m an employee of the NBA, he’s an employee of TNT. And you have your biggest sponsor, one of the faces of that company, saying that on national television. That’s embarrassing for them. So that’s something – a problem that they have.”

Green wasn’t the only one to address Barkley’s comments though. In fact, the baller’s mother, Mary Babers Green, even took to Twitter to call out the controversial broadcaster, saying, “Charles Barkley I wish you would…you think Shaq had you RUNNING!”

But Green’s response made its rounds, Barkley took time on Wednesday to clarify and apologize for his original statement.

“I wasn’t literally going to fight an NBA player,” Barkley said. “If he took it like that, I apologize.”

“What I said was inappropriate. I would never punch an NBA player, I would never punch an NBA player. I meant what I said, I meant what I said, but I would never punch an NBA player. Draymond Green is a good player, I think he’s a nice kid. I wish him nothing but the best, but what I said was inappropriate. I got guys who are mentors to me, I wrote down here, they called me today and said what I said was inappropriate: Derrick Stafford, Jackson Whitlock, and Mike Wilbon. They’re my mentors and big brothers…my opinion should never come across in a comment I make about a team or player and it did last night. Draymond Green is a hell of a player, he’s an irritant and he annoys me sometimes, but he’s a hell of a player. What I said was wrong and I apologize.”

Charles Barkley on Draymond Green “I want to punch his ass in the face” pic.twitter.com/zIyDNXV7e7

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 2, 2018

Charles Barkley apologizes to Draymond Green and his mother for saying he would punch Draymond in the face…”What I said was inappropriate” pic.twitter.com/pXuOaReqg5

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 3, 2018