Two Knicks Players Called Taylor Swift a Performative Fan, and the Team Quickly Backed Her

A throwaway answer during a video game livestream has put the newly crowned NBA champions in the awkward position of apologizing, in effect, for their own players. Taylor Swift was labeled a performative fan by two New York Knicks guards this week, and the team moved within a day to say she is nothing of the sort.

The remarks came on Thursday during an NBA 2K livestream, part of the league’s “Deflected” series. Guards Tyler Kolek and Miles “Deuce” McBride were playing the game when they were asked to name the “fakest celebrity Knicks fan.” Kolek went first. Some famous faces at Madison Square Garden, he said, “just want to be seen at the game, they’re not necessarily fans.” Then he added: “Maybe Taylor Swift?”

What the players actually said

The comments were softer than the headlines suggest. Kolek said he didn’t know whether he had seen Swift at any other games, then offered her an out: “I guess she’s got a lot going on, so she can’t come all the time.” He still landed on calling her appearances “a little performative.” He also predicted he would “get some hate from the Swifties.”

McBride said he agreed. He also named two celebrity fans he considers reliable, actor Ben Stiller and comedian Tracy Morgan, saying “everybody else is usually solid.” According to one report, McBride joked that Kolek was only trying to cushion the blow.

The Knicks respond

On Friday a team spokesperson gave the same statement to several outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter and the BBC. “Taylor Swift has been a Knicks fan for many years, has a long history with Madison Square Garden, and we are incredibly appreciative of her support of the organisation.”

The reaction also reached Kolek’s home. His girlfriend, Alexi Sousa, posted a TikTok describing herself as a Swiftie “waking up next to Tyler & seeing what he had to say about my girl.” She added that Swift is her “favorite celeb Knicks fan btw.” Swift had not responded publicly when the sources were published.

Is the performative fan label fair?

The record shows a mixed picture. Swift sat in the crowd for Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland, reportedly with Travis Kelce, and again at Game Four of the NBA Finals in New York in June. Kolek’s point that her sightings are sporadic is not baseless. But the team’s argument rests on a longer history than one postseason.

Swift was photographed at Knicks games in 2014, including a October matchup with the Chicago Bulls. In a TIME interview that November, she tied her interest in the team to friendly encounters with then-Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire and his wife at the Met Gala. She also recalled performing in the Garden’s halftime talent contest as a young girl. Asked why she supported a struggling team, she replied, “I love them, though. Why does that matter?”

Her ties to the arena go deeper than basketball. She has headlined there on tours, and in July she married Kelce at Madison Square Garden in a ceremony officiated by Adam Sandler.

Her Game Four appearance was also hardly passive. She wore a custom blue shirt reading “Stevie Knicks” alongside Este and Alana Haim and actor Mariska Hargitay. Alana Haim told Vogue that Swift texted her the pun and asked her to make the shirts, which she printed at home on $2.99 tees. The night itself was historic: the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106, the largest comeback ever in an NBA Finals game, according to the NBA. They clinched their first title since 1973 in Game Five.

Why it matters beyond the quip

Celebrity courtside culture has long invited skepticism from players and fans who see seats as a place to be photographed. Kolek’s comment tapped into that. But naming the most famous woman in pop music as the example, in the same season she was at the center of the team’s championship celebrations, guaranteed a bigger reaction than a casual answer in a game stream would normally get.

The Knicks’ quick response suggests the organization saw little upside in letting the label stand. It also shows how a light-hearted question can become a public-relations matter once a name like Swift’s is attached. Whether she is a devoted supporter or an occasional visitor, the team has made clear which description it prefers. And on the court, at least, the champions have little to complain about from anyone who showed up for that comeback.

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File photo: Taylor Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (3).png by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.