New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani made reference to New York Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson during the mayor's inaugural speech on Thursday, and even appeared to make a gesture that resembled Brunson's signature celebration.
The move garnered mixed responses on social media.
The reference came around nine minutes into the speech, when Mamdani proclaimed "excellence is no longer the exception," adding that the city "expects greatness" from "our point guard at Madison Square Garden." During that remark, the mayor covered his face with his hand, appearing to replicate Brunson's celebration, but then transitioned the gesture into a wipe of his face.
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Images of the moment spread across social media, with some Knicks fans appreciating the reference, but many others in the city and around the country criticizing Mamdani for his democratic socialist agenda.
Former Kansas City Chiefs preseason player Chris Manno was one of the many to criticize Mamdani, suggesting Brunson will "loathe" the new mayor.
"The Captain is gonna loathe this clown soon as he learns how much of his next contract will be going to support those who don’t feel the need to work in that corrupt city," Manno wrote in a response to the clip on X.
The cryptocurrency influencer account Dr. Evil of Crypto suggested Brunson would not align with Mamdani's values.
"Brunson is a conservative, religious, family-oriented man. He would never associate with this hateful, vile person," the influencer wrote in an X response. Brunson's religion and political views are not publicly disclosed as he hasn't made any statements addressing them. Brunson went to the private Catholic university Villanova for his college career.
The New York City local news aggregator account City Desk NYC called Mamdani's gesture "clown behavior."
"Mamdani’s Brunson cosplay is peak clown behavior. He’s out here stealing Jalen’s celebration while his policies steal New York’s future," the account wrote in an X response. "Brunson delivers wins. Mamdani delivers excuses."
Several other users mocked or condemned Mamdani for the gesture.
However, other users praised Mamdani for the gesture and reference during the speech.
Brunson received 27 votes in the recent mayoral election on write-in ballots.
Back in October, the Knicks sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mamdani's campaign after he used a logo similar to the team’s for a campaign ad, Fox News Digital confirmed at the time.
Mamdani posted the logo on Instagram with the caption, "This is our year. This is our time. #NewYorkForever." The location for the post was Madison Square Garden. It has since been deleted.
In a statement, the Knicks made it clear they "do not endorse Mr. Mamdani for Mayor."
"The NY Knicks have sent NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a cease-and-desist letter for using the NY Knicks logo to promote his candidacy. The Knicks want to make it clear that we do not endorse Mr. Mamdani for Mayor, and we object to his use of our copyrighted logo. We will pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights."
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