A New York Knicks supporter sparked backlash after being filmed in what many online described as a “disgusting” moment in the aftermath of Thursday’s championship parade.
The celebration brought an open-top bus procession through Manhattan, marking the Knicks’ long-awaited NBA title and ending a 53-year championship drought.
Team owner James Dolan joined the festivities alongside players’ partners, celebrities and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as the parade made its way through the city.
Millions of fans packed the streets dressed in the team’s signature blue and orange, with the city adding its own touch by decorating trash cans along the route in the same colors.
The specially painted bins were placed along the Canyon of Heroes to commemorate the Knicks’ historic victory and add to the festive atmosphere.
But one fan appeared determined to take home more than just memories, allegedly dumping the contents of one commemorative trash can onto the street before walking off with it.
A New York Knicks fan was seen emptying a special orange-and-blue trash can onto the street
The woman was then seen walking away with the trash can, apparently keeping it as memorabilia
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What do incidents like this say about respect for public spaces during major city celebrations?
In a video that has gone viral on social media, one woman, sporting a blue Knicks t-shirt and an orange fisherman beanie hat, was caught picking up a trash receptacle and dumping a mountain of rubbish out onto the sidewalk.
She completely emptied the can much to the horror of mortified passersby, who watched on in disgust as the trash, including spilled beverages, spilled out dirtying the paving.
They weren’t the only ones left horrified, fans on social media were also left furious at the action, hitting out at the woman for her ‘lack of respect.’
‘She should be shamed,’ New York fan account, Knicks Muse, posted on X. ‘Making life miserable for a city worker because you liked the colors of a trash can. Loser.’
Another account wrote: ‘No conscious thought about ethics, morality or society. Just ‘I want this’ ogre mentality.’
‘She needs to be fined for littering,’ a third claimed. ‘Stop acting like you don’t have home training.’
‘It should be charged!! Littering and theft,’ agreed a fourth.
‘Lol these the people that give NY a bad look, Shoutout to the sanitation that had to take care of this, you the real champion,’ added another.
Millions of fans descended on downtown Manhattan to celebrate the Knicks’ parade
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‘That is so disgusting! Contrast that with the Japanese team’s fans cleaning up their entire section after the game,’ chimed in one, referring to the Japanese soccer fans’ customary postgame cleanup operations. ‘And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks what they think about Americans.’
The New York City Department of Sanitation also condemned the act, branding it ‘incredibly stupid.’
‘Dumping trash onto the street and stealing public property for your own personal use are both illegal, antisocial behaviors, and not what New Yorkers do. On top of all that, doing both on camera is incredibly stupid,’ the department said in a statement via the New York Post.
Meanwhile, the NYPD are reportedly aware of the incident but have not received any complaints.
It was not the only wild moment to emerge from the Big Apple’s crazed celebrations on Thursday.
One of the most vicious exchanges was caught on camera showing two women fighting for position before the parade began.
It was sparked by one Knicks fan ripping the woman away from the streetlight sign and throwing her to the floor after they had exchanged words. The fan who threw the woman to the floor had climbed awkwardly down from a streetlight before forcing her foe out of the way.
The other woman, though, refused to take her medicine. She jumped back up and pulled the woman’s shorts right down.
Two Knicks fans were filmed embroiled in a nasty fight during the Knicks championship parade
A fan tried to pull a rival’s pants and underwear off as a fight turned nasty in Manhattan
Fans were forced to scale garbage trucks and street poles to try and get a glimpse of the team
Instead of being embarrassed, the woman owned the moment as she held on to the street sign that she so desperately wanted to watch the parade from.
As people around her shouted out in shock, she twerked away as the other woman repeatedly tried to pull the rest of her clothes off her. At one stage, she even appeared to throw a punch and the woman just soaked it up, her grip of the streetlight remaining firm.
Elsewhere on the parade route, Knicks player Tyler Kolek had exited the team’s bus to soak up the atmosphere with the fans on the ground.
The 25-year-old was running along the parade route and high-fiving fans while clutching a Michelob Ultra in one hand.
He made it past a number of stunned officers patrolling the parade before two cops stopped him and grabbed him.
One officer was seen shaking his head, appearing to say ‘no,’ while another turned him around and pointed for him to leave the area.
A man in a ‘New York or Nowhere’ t-shirt quickly intervened to calm the rising tensions, explaining to the officers that Kolek was in fact a Knicks player.
They eventually released him and sent him on his way. Kolek looked far from impressed, appearing to shout something back at the officers as he continued his jog through the streets.
Kolek later poked fun at the incident on social media, posting on X: ‘I swear I’m on the team bro.’
