Will the Warriors punish the person who leaked that video of Draymond Green punching out a teammate more harshly than they punish Green himself for throwing the punch? That may be the case, as the team is taking "every legal course of action" to find the leaker.

Old-school Oakland Raiders fans will remember a 2003 travesty where linebacker Bill Romanowski punched a teammate in training camp, ending the career of a young player. That player, Marcus Williams, had his eye socket shattered and could never play football again; the $2 million-a-year player Romanowski got off with a $450,000 civil settlement. The punishment, in this case, was far worse for the victim.  

There are shades of this again, in the aftermath of last week’ news that Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green punched out a teammate in practice, and video of Green punching youngster Jordan Poole was published by TMZ just over a day later. In the press conference seen below, team general manager Bob Myers seemed to indicate Green would get the kid-gloves treatment, saying “we’re going to handle it internally.” and said he “doesn’t think” Green will be suspended for even one game.

But if the Warriors find out who leaked that video to TMZ, that person is going to get the book thrown at them. ESPN reports the Warriors are “aggressively investigating” the leak of the video, and the team will pursue "every legal course of action" to find the leaker.

So will the puncher (Green) get off with a financially inconsequential penalty, while the person who shot the video of the punch (Identity TBD) gets railroaded out of their line of work for life? That seems to be the outcome the Warriors organization would prefer.

“They launched an investigation immediately,” very plugged-in NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski says in the ESPN segment above. “Obviously, they are not happy that that video got out of their practice facility, and they’re trying to figure out where it came from and how it got out, whether that was somebody internally.”

But it may not have been an internal leak. “There are different people who sometimes have access to practice [footage],” Wojnarowski adds. “You would imagine if it is someone internally in that organization, there would be severe repercussions. It is not always easy, though, to find the root of a leak like that. They may or may not be able to.”    

Green is on an indefinite absence from the team. At a press conference today, Kerr was directly asked about the “perception out there” that “you consider the leak a more serious problem than the actual incident.”

“I’m concerned about both,” Kerr responded. “They’re both a problem. The incident was a problem, the leak was a problem.”

Kerr has some perspective on this. In his playing days, Michael Jordan punched Steve Kerr and left him with a black eye. That was on the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who would go on to win an NBA championship that season.

Related: Draymond Green Punches Warriors Teammate at Practice, TMZ Has Video [SFist]

Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Draymond Green #23 and head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors reacts when Green was ejected from the game after receiving his second technical foul against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Chase Center on March 20, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)