Tyler Kolek Responds as Viral Footage Shows US Police Try Arrest Him at Knicks Parade

He joined in April 2024, having previously worked at VAVEL as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, where he produced a variety of content, including pieces from press conferences and games. He also won an award for his role as lead editor for the Women's Football section of the online newspaper.

Covering football all across Europe, he has worked at stadiums such as Anfield, Old Trafford, and Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, as well as having reported at both the 2023 men's and women's Champions League finals in Eindhoven and Istanbul.

He is infatuated with every aspect of football, but likes other sports as well, being an avid coffee-desperate Buffalo Bills supporter from across the pond and a darts' newbie. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Tyler Kolek has posted on social media for the first time since viral footage emerged on Thursday evening showing US police appearing to try 'arrest him' during the New York Knicks’ historic title parade. The side won a five-game NBA Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs to secure their first championship in 53 years.

A dramatic 107-106 comeback victory in Game 4 was a standout moment in the shock run, as Mike Brown’s side overturned a record-breaking 29-point deficit at Madison Square Garden. The past few weeks have sparked euphoric scenes across the Big Apple, with celebrities such as Timothee Chalamet and Taylor Swift among those joining the celebrations.

However, at times, the celebrations have not been entirely trouble-free, with arrests made as some unruly Knicks fans took things too far. Eggs were thrown at Victor Wembanyama, among other objects, while cases of vandalism and fan violence meant security were already on high alert during this week's party.

The fallout from the historic NBA Finals Game 4 has been a security nightmare for the NYPD.

NYPD officers thought they were dealing with another incident at the title parade - where an estimated two million supporters filled Lower Manhattan - when Kolek ran past security.

The fan favourite player, 25, was running along the Manhattan parade route Thursday and high-fiving fans while holding a beer in one hand when two police officers grabbed him and stopped him, appearing to mistake him for a fan who had hopped the barricade. Watch the incident below:

Kolek briefly stopped as the officers appeared to point him to the exit, but they backed off once the crowd began to boo and yelled that he was a member of the NBA championship-winning team.

Although Kolek, who plays guard, helped to defeat San Antonio Spurs in the midseason tournament in December, he did not play in any of the 2026 NBA Finals games, which saw the Knicks beat the Spurs in five games.

The 25-year-old looked annoyed as he ran away from the police, but later joked about the incident in a post on X, writing (see his full post below):

The parade started in Battery Park and travelled down to City Hall, where the team was awarded the keys to the city. “The Knicks did not just win for New York City - they won like New York City,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during the ceremony speech, according to Independent.

“What is New York if not your back up against the wall, a dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment you don’t know how you will ever make? What is New York if not 99.6 percent of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile? Who look at a 0.4 percent chance of success and ask: ‘why’re you giving me a head start?’”

Mamdani concluded: “This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years, we watched. For 53 years, we waited. Now, we’ve won.”