New York Knicks player Tyler Kolek broke his silence after he was nearly arrested by New York Police Department (NYPD) personnel at the Champions Parade today, June 18.
Officials briefly detained the Nicks point guard while he interacted with fans at the parade in the streets of Manhattan, celebrating the victory in the National Baseball Association (NBA) championship after 53 long years. The police mistook the player for a fan.
The 25-year-old athlete then turned to X and reacted to the incident. Citing a tweet about the 6’2 player almost being tackled by police, Kolek wrote, “I swear I’m on the team, bro.”
The player’s humorous response unleashed a wave of memes in the responses to his tweet. One fan wrote: “LET THEM PUT ANOTHER FINGER ON THE DEMON, HE WILL JUMP INTO THE RN CAR.”
Another chimed in: “Not knowing NBA Cup hero Tyler Kolek should be a crime, cop should have arrested himself.”
This comes as New York celebrates the end of one of the longest trophy droughts in NBA history. The celebration marks the first ticker tape parade in Knicks history.
The franchise previously won NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, but neither title was celebrated with a parade through New York City.
The New York City government has described the event as one of the largest championship celebrations New York has ever hosted. The fans seemed elated to honor their team.
