No, Danny Green did not bash the Spurs’ medical staff. Here’s what he actually said

If you search Danny Green’s name on Twitter right now, you’ll get a number of tweets and headlines that say he bashed the Spurs’ medical staff on Tuesday.

You mean the medical staff that handled Kawhi PERFECTLY and couldn't have possibly done anything wrong to upset Kawhi bc he's just an easily manipulated boob who was faking an injury bc the Spurs are darlings of NBA media so they can't do anything wrong?

THAT medical staff? https://t.co/sx7fnR33ax

— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) July 24, 2018

And Green did, in fact, speak about San Antonio’s medical staff on the first episode of his new podcast, Inside the Green Room with Danny Green. But the veteran guard, who was traded with Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick, did not have any negative words for San Antonio’s team of medical professionals. His exact words about them were, “they’ve always been great to me, done right by me. They’ve always done a hell of a job.”

What Green did, though, was revisit an injury he suffered where he should have sought a second opinion, but didn’t. Here is the full quote from the episode. If you’d like to listen yourself, he begins addressing this situation at about the 14:35 mark.

Here’s the full quote and context:

“I think December came around, we played Boston. Kyrie’s still playing at this point, he’s not hurt. They’re doing really well at this point, actually. We actually won the game, but I had strained my groin in the first half, probably first or second quarter, trying to chasedown a block or dunk. And it was stupid because I was nowhere near close to getting the block, but that’s just the competitive nature in me. And I wanted to go back in.

But I got an MRI the next day, they say it’s a slight strain, we’re gonna take a couple weeks off. So we do the rehab, do everything we’re supposed to do, and with a groin strain it’s hard to tell between a groin and a sports hernia sometimes. So we gave it some time to heal and tried to play again. And certain days were bad days, some days would be good, and I’d feel it. And they’d say maybe you should get it checked.

My agent said maybe you should get a second opinion. I didn’t want to because I had always had full faith and belief in the Spurs’ staff. They’ve always been great to me, done right by me. They’ve always done a hell of a job.

So throughout the season we’ve monitored it, but we never went back to check on it again, because so many other injuries have happened. And I could have gotten a second opinion, so I see where Kawhi [Leonard] is coming from when he got his second opinion. Because a lot of times, you’ll get information from outside sources, and not saying the Spurs staff is not up to par, it’s just not everybody is a specialist in every area. So it’s not like they’re a specialist in the groin area or a sports hernia, maybe. So to go to a guy who may be in Philly to get a second opinion shouldn’t hurt.

So end of the season, come to find out, it could have happened that day or the playoff series against Golden State, we don’t know, but to end the season I had to get another MRI, because you get an exit physical. The strain was still there with a little tear. So since then I’ve been rehabbing it basically, and now they’re passing my information on to Toronto. But we don’t know how long I’ve been playing with this strain, or how long ago the tear happened, because we hadn’t really circled back or focused on it that much because of some of the other injuries that were happening throughout the season, whether it was an Achilles, dislocated finger, I had stitches in my face.

A second opinion could have helped, but [the Spurs] did a great job. They did everything they could. But I think it would have been nice to see a specialist, just to see if there was another angle, another view. So just because Kawhi got a second opinion, you can’t knock him for that. Everybody should get a second opinion just to see another perspective.”

Green injured his groin, rehabbed and played through the injury at the end of the season, only to find out the injury was a little bit worse than he had thought. But he was also unsure if the injury was originally a tear, or if he tore his groin when he returned from rehab.

He wasn’t bashing San Antonio’s medical staff. Green only said that he himself should have sought additional medical attention, just like anyone else can seek a second opinion on a lingering injury. Even the best team-specific medical staffs have general expertise and might miss a specific injury that a specialist could spot.

Absolutely. This is just like going to the doctor because you have a rash on your skin, so the doctor turns around and refers you to a dermatologist. Only the Spurs didn’t refer Green to a groin specialist, and he ignored his agent’s advice to seek out the a second opinion.

Green definitely defended Kawhi Leonard ... and the Spurs

After all, Leonard only played nine games last season while he endured a lingering quadriceps injury. It was an injury he sought medical attention from an independent group of doctors in New York City instead of taking the Spurs’ medical staff’s word on it.

Green admitted he, too, should have sought a second opinion on his groin injury before later discovering it was still strained with a tear. Should that change how we view the Spurs’ medical staff? No. Should it change how we view Kawhi Leonard choosing to get a second opinion?

Maybe.

But the bottom line is that Green wasn’t suggesting the Spurs’ medical staff isn’t up to par. He’s instead saying that more athletes should still seek out second opinions.

Dope article from sbnation.com