CALIFORNIA - Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said he was in a "very bad space mentally" when he punched teammate Jordan Poole during practice on Wednesday but that there was no excuse for his actions.

"I failed as a man," Green said during a news conference on Saturday in his first public comments about the situation. "I failed as a leader."

Word of an altercation between Green and Poole first emerged on Wednesday, but on Friday, TMZ posted a leaked video of the fight. The team said it was investigating how the video became public.

Green, 32, said it was "embarrassing," both for him and for Poole, 23, that the incident was seen by their families. He would not say what prompted the punch, adding that he was not looking for sympathy or to change public opinion about what he did.

"What I did was wrong," he said, adding that the altercation looked worse than he thought when he saw the video.

Some media reports said the fight was related to the players' contract situations. Green and Poole are eligible for pricey extensions, and it is possible that the team will not extend offers to both of them. But Green said the contracts had "absolutely nothing" to do with the fight.

In the video, Green and Poole appear to be exchanging words as Green comes chest to chest with Poole, who then shoves him and moves backward. But Green lunges toward Poole and punches him.

Green said he apologised to the team and to Poole but did not know how Poole felt about the situation.

The team said it would handle punishment for Green internally, and Green has not practised with the team for the past several days. He said he expected to play in the team's season-opener at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct 18, but Golden State coach Steve Kerr said there was no set date for his return.

Kerr said the team and Green mutually agreed that he should be away from the team right now.

Kerr would not say what it would take for Green to be allowed to rejoin the team, and he responded, "No comment," when asked if this situation had affected his trust in Green. Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he didn't think the punishment would include missing any games.

"I am a very flawed human being," Green said.

"I hurt someone because I was in a place of hurt."

Meanwhile, Trae Young top-scored with 31 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to their second win in three days over the Milwaukee Bucks in pre-season action in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. He made seven three-pointers in the first half alone as the Hawks went on to dominate the 2021 NBA champions 118-109. NYT, REUTERS, AFP