“I’m hard-headed. I don’t listen. I’ma do me,” he said, shifting in his chair, bobbing and weaving as if he were dodging slow-motion punches.” It don’t feel right unless you’re doing it your way… I ain’t gonna be being fake or trying to do it some other way. I’m just gonna be my own personality, my own style, my own way.”
What makes Green’s approach so interesting (at least to me) is that for the majority of his career, the Inland Empire representative has been wildly misunderstand and miscast in the terms of how people see him.
View Green’s Athlete Profile
Many observers have struggled to see past the tattoos, the jewelry, and the swagger. They’ve misinterpreted his passion, his willingness to speak his mind and vulnerability as him being a malcontent; someone who is constantly dissatisfied with his place in the hierarchy and the opportunities afforded to him.
But when you stop and listen to what he’s saying or take the time to understand where he’s coming from, those perceptions — and the stereotypes they’re rooted in — fall away, revealing a man who came up through the foster system, dealt with countless family tragedies, and wants nothing more than to lift up his community and show people there is a way out from the hard scabble living that befalls most people faced with the circumstances he’s endured.
