Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks – who injured Gary Payton with a dirty hit – said he didn’t mean to hurt the Warriors guard.
Payton in The Players’ Tribune:
Also, for the record: There’s no bad blood between me and Dillon. After we closed out Game 6, I got word that he wanted to talk outside the locker room, and when I got there he apologized. I give Dillon a lot of credit for that — no text, no social media, nothing indirect. He came in person, and we talked like grown men. He told me he didn’t mean to hurt me. I believe him.
Many people – in the Bay Area and beyond – vilified Brooks. At minimum, Brooks was reckless. Personally, I think that’s too generous. He clubbed an airborne Payton with what looked like, in the heat of the moment, an attempt to inflict damage.
But if Payton isn’t holding a grudge, how upset can everyone else be?
