After catching heat for calling out Taylor Swift's New York Knicks fandom, backup point guard Tyler Kolek appears to be trying to get on the good side of Swifties, and his girlfriend dropped a major revelation about his fandom.
Kolek posted a carousel of pictures from recent games with the caption, “Tyler's Version,” an obvious reference to Swift's “(Taylor's Version)” re-recorded albums.
His girlfriend, Lexi Sousa, came out to defend her boyfriend, saying, “Eras Tour attendee mind you !!” with a white heart emoji. Others defended him as well, with one saying, “PROTECT HIM FROM THE SWIFTIES AT ALL COSTS,” and another said, “Caption of the week.”
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His teammate, Jordan Clarkson, also posted a video of him singing Swift's “Blank Space” in the locker room after a recent Knicks game. He captioned the video, “He apologizes…the kid is okay. He's a Swiftie.”
Tyler Kolek called Taylor Swift the ‘fakest' Knicks fan
During an appearance on Deflected, Kolek and Miles McBride, who were playing NBA 2K, were asked who the “fakest celebrity fan” of the Knicks was. Since McBride scored the next points, Kolek had to answer.
Article Continues BelowHe feels a lot of celebrities are clout-chasing by going to games, saying, “At the Knicks games, I would say it's very performative 'cause they just want to be seen at the game; they're not necessarily fans. Maybe Taylor Swift. I don't know if I've seen her at any other games.”
For context, she attended one of the Knicks' games against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals before attending Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs earlier in the year.
McBride knew Kolek's comments might annoy Swifties, and the backup point guard tried to recover, saying she might have “a lot going on, so she can't come all the time.” Ultimately, he still finds her fandom “a little performative.”