Weekend Update: About Adrian Griffin

The Milwaukee Bucks have got their guy in the lead chair, and it is not who most of us expected. Adrian Griffin, an NBA journeyman turned longtime assistant coach, was reported yesterday to have been tapped for the opening recently vacated by Mike Budenholzer, aka “the best head coach the Bucks had in decades.” What do we know about Adrian Griffin? Here’s a few items that came up over the weekend, and feel free to add anything else in the comments.

Is technically a doctor!

Well-liked across the league

Giannis gave the green light

Pulls wisdom from every stop

Perhaps has some unresolved issues

This item is the one that has many people worked up, and that those people are worked up has subsequently gotten other people worked up. In any case, this item deserves further explanation, so here’s what is known:

In August 2020, Griffin’s ex-wife Audrey posted on social media accusations of domestic violence and abusive behavior directed at Adrian. The claims themselves were never taken down, and are – in a word – upsetting. There is nothing further in the public record about any further action being taken, which suggests that law enforcement was not involved in any significant capacity. This, by itself, is sadly not an uncommon occurrence: roughly half of cases of domestic violence in the United States go unreported, for a litany of reasons that all generally mean the target of abuse is at a disadvantage. In this case, this means that any further details about these events are effectively unknown the public. Whether you consider it “the private business of a couple where things got nasty” or “another case of the patriarchy’s oppression” is up to how you choose to view things. As a notable wrinkle, the Toronto Raptors (Griffin’s employer at the time) also declined taking any action, not even conducting an investigation.

However, in August 2021, Griffin filed a libel suit against his former spouse, claiming that the accusations were false and intended to undermine his career. The filing can be reviewed in full here. Griffin was also publicly supported by two of his children on social media, making statements on his behalf. Having the original claims be countered by family members and the tangible step of legal action is not a refutation of the accusations; they are the strongest pieces of “evidence” that go against the claims. The libel suit itself was eventually dismissed on the grounds that the two parties came to an agreement in September 2022. Naturally, the details of such an agreement are also unknown to the public, meaning the nature of how this situation was resolved (if it can be called “resolved”) is effectively a mystery that likely will never be revealed.

What other details have been brought up about the Bucks’ newest head coach? Add the links to the comments and we’ll be sure to keep covering the biggest current story of the franchise.