Vivek Ramaswamy slammed the fake news that he was banned from the Knicks’ locker room and said he didn’t even wait after his team was thrashed.
Vivek Ramaswamy said it was foolish to claim he wanted to enter the Knicks’ locker room under the guise of welcoming them to Ohio and then campaign for governor – then he denied it.
Ramaswamy also highlighted the bigger picture that he was being targeted by Ohio Democrats’ dirty politics, and said that’s why “reasonable” people rarely enter politics.
Here’s what happened
Ramaswamy and his wife attended Game 4 of the NBA playoffs in Cleveland, sitting courtside as the Cavaliers were eliminated by the New York Knicks. The Rooster, an online provocateur in Ohio politics, posted to his subgroup that after the game Ramaswamy attempted to enter the Knicks’ locker room under the guise of welcoming them to Ohio and using his status as the Republican Party’s candidate for governor.Then the alleged story of Ramaswamy’s humiliation spread like wildfire and sparked a lot of comments.Ramaswamy claimed that it was all fake and the imagination of a leftist blogger with mental health issues. He explained in a lengthy statement that he initially did not want to respond to the story because it was so stupid. But he had to respond to show how toxic politics is.“I’m a Cavaliers fan. I always love going to their games. I’ve been going there for decades.”
My wife and I bought tickets to the stadium for Game 4 against the Knicks, and our team got smoked. It was brutal. We both watched the game, face to face, in a state of disbelief and depression during the second half, and then quietly left after the bell directly to our car (accompanied by state-provided security at all times).”Ramaswamy said he clearly didn’t wait to watch the Knicks celebrate, because a sharp jab to the eye would have been more fun.“No, we didn’t stick around to watch the Knicks celebrate their game. There’s no money on earth you could pay me to sit and watch them receive the Eastern Conference Cup, let alone watch them walk off the court and into the locker room. A sharp poke in the eye would be more fun,” he said.“But then a left-wing blogger from Ohio with mental health issues posted that not only did I wait until after the party, but I stayed there and tried to enter the Knicks’ locker room after the game, telling them I wanted to ‘welcome’ them to Ohio.
This is nuts! He also posted other vivid details. “This was also 100% crazy,” he added.
The bigger picture is…
Ohio Democrats shared the fictional story, and then news platforms began spreading it, Ramaswamy said. “It’s all stupid, to be clear. But it’s dirty, it happens over and over again, and the general public would do well to know about it. That’s why rational people rarely go into politics. And anyone who does should probably get their head checked (myself included).”
My team reasonably told me not to be disrespectful by commenting on it. Politically, they may be right.
But if every leader followed this advice, it would reward incentives for bad actors to lie not just about me, but about others in the future as well. “Call me idealistic, but I don’t think this is how things are supposed to be,” Ramaswamy said.
