A Memphis TV station is investigating its weatherman after he made a racist remark in a tweet directed at Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Fox 13’s Joey Sulipeck, who is white, shared the since-deleted post on Saturday during Game 3 of the Grizzlies-Warriors playoff game. The tweet emerged after Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson was ejected.
“And chew on this: Draymond runs his knuckle-dragging open mouth ALL GAME LONG, but mild-mannered Kyle Anderson disputes one call and gets ejected?” Sulipeck wrote. “Next level jackassery.”
Sulipeck has deleted his account since the tweet sparked significant backlash.
Fox 13 Memphis said in a statement on its Twitter account on Monday that it plans to take “appropriate action.”
“During Saturday’s Memphis Grizzlies’ game, Meteorologist Joey Sulipeck tweeted a comment that does not reflect the values of FOX13,” the station wrote. “We take this matter very seriously and will take appropriate action pending a full investigation.”
Draymond Green issued his own response to the tweet on his Instagram Stories.
“Are you surprised?” he wrote with several laughing emojis. “Don’t apologize. STAND ON IT!”
He then took to Twitter to issue a brief response to someone who wrote, “Thought y’all was tough in a Memphis y’all been deleting tweets & pages all damn night.”
Green merely wrote, “On Business.”
Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr was asked to offer his thoughts on Sulipeck’s tweet during his media session on Sunday. Kerr was unaware of the situation but he said the racist remark didn’t shock him.
“Does it surprise me that a weatherman would tweet a slur at Draymond in 2022?” Kerr asked. “Not in the slightest bit. This is America. This is how we operate.”
The Memphis Grizzlies played against the Golden State Warriors at the latter’s Chase Center in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. The home team emerged victorious Saturday evening, walking away with a 142-112 victory.
Watch Kerr's press conference below, with him speaking on the tweet at the 6:52 mark.
