Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has been quite outspoken on a wide range of topics this offseason, so it wasn’t a surprise that he chimed in on a subject that made headlines in the sports world recently. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday that New York had sued Kalshi for running an illegal gambling operation in the state.
Hochul later took to X to state that Kalshi, the popular sports prediction market, was being held accountable for ignoring laws that are protecting New Yorkers.
“Our laws protect New Yorkers from illegal and predatory gambling,” Hochul wrote. “Kalshi chose to ignore them. Now they’re being held accountable.”
Now, this is a decision that did split opinion. Kuzma was among those unhappy with Hochul and accused her on X of protecting the casino lobby.
“Kalshi offered New York a plan that would’ve brought in $10B over five years for public schools and healthcare,” Kuzma wrote. “Hochul’s response is to ban them to protect the casino lobby. Politicians losing the plot. Makes you wonder what really motivates these politicians.”
Now, questioning what motivates politicians is fair. Unfortunately for Kuzma, Hochul’s press office dug up a piece of information he had previously shared on X, which put into question his motivations for criticizing the decision to sue Kalshi.
“But your motivations are pure, right?” wrote the Governor’s press office.
But your motivations are pure, right? https://t.co/Fr7kYC3Kgt pic.twitter.com/cocEALV5uX
— Governor Hochul Press Office (@NYGovPress) July 31, 2026
Now, Giannis Antetokounmpo joining Kalshi as a shareholder was a big talking point back in February. It somehow went under the radar when Kuzma, who averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, mentioned in May that he had invested in the platform. The 31-year-old obviously cannot be unbiased on this subject as he has a horse in the race.
All of this happened just days after Kuzma criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for “cosplaying” as President. He was reacting there to Mamdani calling Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal.
Kuzma claimed a generation is being raised that “learns the reward isn’t in doing the thing; it’s in looking like you did the thing.” He sure has had a lot to get off his chest this summer.
Kuzma first made waves by criticizing the Collective Bargaining Agreement currently in place. He said it was sold as parity but is starting to function as a hard cap. Kuzma added that the next CBA is a do-or-die moment for the players. He later complained that owners, private equity funds, and outside investors are profiting from rising team values in this CBA but not the players. Kuzma isn’t a happy camper, to say the least.
