New York Knicks player Tyler Kolek has broken his silence after he was nearly arrested by New York Police Department (NYPD) personnel at the Champions Parade today, June 18.
Officials briefly stopped the Nicks’ point guard as he engaged with fans at the parade through the streets of Manhattan to celebrate the National Baseball Association (NBA) championship victory after 53 long years. Police mistook the player for a fan.
The 25-year-old athlete later went to X and responded 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 humorous response from the player sparked a wave of memes in the replies to his tweet. One fan wrote: “LET THEM PUT ANOTHER FINGER ON YOU DEMON JUMPING IN THE CAR RN.”
Another said: “Not knowing that NBA Cup hero Tyler Kolek should be a felony, the police should have arrested themselves.”
This comes as NYC 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 NYC government has described the event as one of the largest championship celebrations New York has ever hosted. Fans seemed ecstatic to honor their team.
