The Knicks championship season united fans, communities and the city, bringing us all together to celebrate the end of a 53 year NBA title drought.
Despite the color of your skin, your background, neighborhood, income level, education or employer, we all came together to cheer for a team that reflected the values of New York City during its title run.
When down, they endured and persevered.
When doubted, they overcame and proved critics wrong.
And when it mattered most, they delivered and won.
Their ability to unite the most diverse city and fanbase in the world is no small feat, yet they accomplished the goal that others could not.
And that’s why they should stand united once more and decline Tr**p’s White House invitation.
How can an all-Black starting line-up visit a man who has done everything in his power (and often travel beyond the scope of it) to revoke the rights, and eliminate the accomplishments of those who look like them?
How can a team of players made up of diverse cultures travel to see a man who has instituted travel bans and who oversees and administration dedicated to blocking appointments for, and/or eliminating, Black military personnel and government employees.
And how can a team that created so much excitement, joy and celebration visit a man whose very presence divided their home arena and contributed to the end of their 13 game winning streak.
I don’t want to hear the whining of his supporters who call for unity from others but not from their great divider and corruptor, a man who has no compassion for people unless they “kiss the ring”.
And spare us the “why is everything about race” commentary for the orange one and his loyalists have made Blackness a primary target across politics, education, employment, funding and so much more.
Fans endured 53 years of heartache, pain, anger and frustration before the horrors of past seasons were finally exorcised on Saturday, June 13th.
Those are four negative qualities that Tr**p, and team owner Jim Dolan, have subjected all of us to, Knicks fan or not.
For decades, Dolan cared little for the fans.
He gave us years of poor leadership. He meddled in personnel decisions (Carmelo Anthony), made bad hiring decisions (Isiah Thomas) and allowed a toxic culture to fester in the building (Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harassment lawsuit), all of which hamstrung the franchise for years.
He’s also the same man who humiliated fan-favorite Charles Oakley in front of a packed Garden crowd and those watching the game on television.
Dolan owns the team, but just because he’s aligned with Tr**p doesn’t mean the players have to be, and in these current times, they shouldn’t be.
Why should a team that embodies everything the White House isn’t be forced to visit a man who has unapologetically expressed hate and an overall distaste for people who look like the Knicks?
Some of his supporters, like MAGA-loving national radio host, Boomer Esiason, who calls the president “my good friend,” are using their platforms to push for the team to visit with Tr**p.
“You go out of respect to the office…I would think that everybody can get over the political nature of all of this. Doing the right thing by the team, which this mayor happens to be doing, I’m all in support of,” said Boomer two days before the Knicks parade.
Yet in the same breath, Boomer took a shot at Mayor Mamdani.
“I have no problem with the New York Knicks going to a socialist mayor and saying, ‘We’re the champions, here are the keys,’ and the mayor basking in the glow of that championship.”
They love their labels and taking their digs, don’t they?
Boomer exemplifies exactly why Tr**p doesn’t deserve a visit by the New York Knicks.
New York City, while in no way perfect, still runs on basic values and an integration of diverse cultures and languages, values and backgrounds that have purposely been attacked by, and systematically removed from, this administration.
The Knicks held each other accountable, did their jobs and brought the city together to celebrate their championship at a parade that manifested the same unity as the team (I can attest to that as I was there). This administration, on the other hand, blames others for its faults, never takes accountability for failures and continues to push and pull people apart.
The New York Knicks were in a state of disarray for far too long, but thanks to Jalen Brunson, KAT, OG, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and head coach Mike Brown, they removed the cloud of negativity that shrouded the franchise.
Now that that’s been eliminated, the team and its fans don’t need to exposed to another source of hate, chaos and toxicity.
At the parade, Brunson addressed this very point.
“There’s a lot of people who have a lot of negative stuff to say,” Brunson said. “There’s a lot of people who have their own opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you don’t have to say s–t to them. They don’t deserve it.”
Brunson is right, so stay home my New York Knickerbockers.
They don’t deserve you.
