Bucks HC Adrian Griffin explains ejection against Pacers

Griffin wasn’t happy with how the game officials missed what seemed like an obvious foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks coach let his feelings known to the refs – a bit too much at that – and it led to his ejection.

After the game, Coach Griff admitted that his ejection was brought about by his decision to stand up for his superstar:

“I thought Giannis was getting hit quite a bit and I voiced my opinion,” Griffin said. “Next time I will do it in a little bit more delicate way.”

It is important to note that Griffin himself came out to say that he feels he let Antetokounmpo down on Wednesday after the two-time MVP was ejected against the Detroit Pistons. Griffin said that he needed to protect Antetokounmpo more, which is exactly what he did on Thursday against the Pacers.

The 49-year-old doubled down on having his superstar’s back as he discussed his ejection against Indiana:

“He’s such a great human being and he doesn’t complain,” Griffin said. “He has the utmost respect for the ref. I do feel responsible at times to just voice it. Obviously, your voice is choice and you have to be mindful of that. But it is my responsibility to just make sure that he’s protected out there. … I just want to protect him out there, that’s all.”

Antetokounmpo must have loved the energy from his coach here.