The Athletic celebrates ‘Zochran Mamdani’s athletic summer’ after New York Knicks win NBA Finals
The Knicks celebration in New York turned into chaos with numerous arrests, bus fires
A spontaneous NBA championship celebration in New York for the Knicks quickly descended into chaos, with Chanley Painter reporting multiple arrests, stabbings and five school bus fires. New York City police used riot gear and police horses to control the escalating riots after the historic victory.
The New York Knicks won their first NBA title since 1973 on Saturday night with another 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, Eng Major league Arsenal football team won this league for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.
Both of these teams have star players in the prime of their careers. Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl Anthony-Towns all starred for the Knicks, especially in the postseason. For Arsenal, they are loaded with stars like Bukayo Sakho, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and goalkeeper David Raya.
So one would think that the credit for the accomplishments of these teams would go to the players, coaches, operations and front office staff. But that would imply a level of awareness and rationality that many in left-leaning sports media organizations simply do not possess.
Knicks beat Spurs in Game 5 to win first NBA championship since 1973, snap 53-year drought
New York City Mayor Zochran Mamdani arrives to participate in the Puerto Rican National Parade in New York on June 14, 2026. (Adam Gray/Associated Press)
Look no further than Athletic as an example. Out of nowhere, the newspaper, owned by the New York Times, published X on Sunday afternoon, noting that the two teams are part of “Zokhran Mamdani sports summer.” Because Mamdani is apparently a fan of both teams, so this is his “sports summer” because they both had success.
What on earth?
What does Zohran Mamdani have to do with it? Would Athletic social media post about “Donald Trump sports year,” when, say, the Yankees win the World Series this fall? Trump has been attending Knicks games since before Mamdani lived in New York.
President Donald Trump watches before Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 2026 in New York. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Even more impressive is that Mamdani is believed to be an Arsenal fan, even though he has never lived in the UK. Did he choose Arsenal because he liked a particular style of play, or because of some longstanding association with North London? Of course not, in his own words, his Arsenal fandom started with them signing some African players in the early 2000s.
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“I became a fan in the early 2000s and it was my uncle who introduced me to the team,” Mamdani said Griffin in the 2025 interview. “I was born in Kampala, Uganda, in East Africa, and my father’s family is from East Africa, and Arsenal were one of the first teams to have some African players: Lauren, Kola Toure, Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Eboue, Alex Song.”
This strange “celebration” is made even more strange when you consider that Arsenal lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. I New York Mets after Mamdani took a picture with the Mets mascots, he sadly went on a 12-game losing streak. Revealing his trademark fake painted smile in the process.
Mrs. Met hugs Zohran Mamdani at Citi Field before the game between the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 9, 2026 in New York City. (Caean Couto/Getty Images)
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But again, the broader meaning is: would Athletic host a similar celebration featuring a mayor or a Republican politician? Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s owner, has donated to both political parties but has primarily supported Republicans, including giving $1 million to Trump’s 2016 inaugural committee. He is also a billionaire, which according to Mamdani, should not exist. Knicks owner Jim Dolan said Trump is a “great guy” as well as a billionaire. Who invested in the creation of his organization.
So Mamdani gets the credit and celebrates Arsenal’s victory, even though the money spent to turn Arsenal and the Knicks into championship-caliber teams came from the billionaires Mamdani vilifies. Perfection. Although, after all, this is the same media that published the article: “Donald Trump, James Dolan tried to spoil the atmosphere of the NBA finals. The Knicks loss killed him.”
For some reason, Mamdani wasn’t blamed for that loss and the story was never updated after the same left-leaning writers blamed “attitude” for the Knicks falling behind by 29 points in Game 4. They won that game, of course. Leftist sports media in a nutshell.
