Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for the governor of Ohio, was in attendance for Game 4 of the Knicks vs. Cavaliers series as a major fan of Cleveland.
Following the Knicks’ 130-93 bulldozing of the Cavaliers, a fake post went viral on social media that claimed that Ramaswamy not only stayed in the arena after the Cavaliers lost, but also tried to linger and wander into the Knicks’ locker room to ‘welcome’ them to Ohio, and he was denied entry into the locker room.
Ramaswamy took exception to this post and took to social media to fire back at these claims.
“This is obviously 100% fake, originally fabricated by a leftist blogger with mental health issues. On one hand, I really didn’t want to respond because it’s so dumb. On the other hand, it’s Exhibit A of how toxic politics works & it happens often enough that I feel some obligation to lift the curtain on how the game is played.”
“So here goes: I’m a Cavs fan. Love going to their games, always have, I’ve been going for decades. My wife and I bought courtside tickets for Game 4 against the Knicks, and our team got smoked. It was brutal. The two of us watched the game, face in hands, in disbelief and dejection during the second half, then peaced out right after the buzzer, straight to our car (accompanied by state-provided security the entire time).”
“No, we did not stick around to watch the Knicks celebrate their romping. There is literally no amount of money on Earth you could have paid me to sit around and watch them collect their Eastern Conference trophy, let alone watch them parade off the court to their locker room. A sharp poke in the eye would’ve been more pleasant.”
“But then, a left-wing Ohio blogger with mental health issues publishes that not only did I wait until after the ceremony, but that I lingered around & tried to enter the Knicks’ locker room after the game, and told them I wanted to “welcome” them to Ohio. This is nuts! He also published other vivid details. Those were also 100% nuts.”
“But here’s how the game is played. Ohio Democrats then repeatedly boosted the so-called “story” on social media, and the Daily Beast & others wrote ‘news’ stories about it,” Ramswamy explained.
“Then hundreds of others cite the Daily Beast’s reporting and literally turn their fantasy into ‘truth.’ It’s worth observing the incentive that political opponents would have to fabricate an anonymous ‘tip’ to a random blogger with mental issues who has absolutely no standards for publication, then to amplify the ‘stories’ after they’re written.”
“The whole thing is dumb, to be clear. But it’s dirty, it happens repeatedly, and the public is better off knowing about it. It’s why sane people rarely go into politics. Anyone who does should probably have their own head checked out (including me).”
“My team sensibly told me not to dignify it by commenting on it. Politically, they’re probably right. But if every leader were to follow that advice, it rewards the incentives for bad actors to lie not just about me, but about others in the future, too. Call me idealistic, but I don’t think that’s how things are supposed to work.”
The Republican candidate clarifies that he didn’t try to enter the Knicks’ locker room not only due to the sheer humiliation that his team faced on the court, but also explained how, as a sports fan, doing that would hurt his heart.
The Cavaliers missed their first chance to head to the NBA Finals since LeBron James left the team in 2018. Of course, Ramaswamy was not happy and went straight to his car. Meanwhile, the Knicks ended a 27-year drought to go to the Finals for the first time since 1999.
Whether or not these fake reports were politically fueled is uncertain. But as a die-hard sports fan, Ramaswamy wants no fake news to be out there about having a swindling sense of loyalty. I can certainly respect that.
