After the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, a large group of people took over a street in midtown Manhattan — and one New Yorker tried to stop the chaos.
The crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent and destructive on a street adjacent to a watch party in Bryant Park, according to the New York City Police Department.
Videos posted on social media show fans fighting, ripping out street signs and banging on cars. Fans also blocked traffic and climbed on top of light poles and police vehicles, police said.
In a now-viral video, 32-year-old Balladoli Mieses stepped in front of people attempting to pull a street sign from the ground and asked, “What are y’all doing? This is our city.”
“New York City means a lot to me because this is where I was raised…this is where my daughters live,” Mieses told CBS News on Friday.
The father of four said that people ignored his pleas to stop, and instead started booing and slapping him.
Mieses said he “didn’t care” about the negative reaction, explaining that he acted on an instinct to protect where he lives.
“We’ve got to take care of our city for the future, like my daughters,” Mieses said.
When asked how he had the courage to risk his safety on behalf of the city, Mieses responded that his parents always taught him to “do right,” and to “never be scared of saying what you want to say.”
Police took 21 people into custody Monday night. Two days later, after the Knicks won Game 4 of the series in dramatic fashion, police took 56 people into custody when another crowd became rowdy and disruptive, according to police.
As the Knicks prepare for Game 5 on Saturday, Mieses plans to celebrate the team and hopes other fans do so safely.
Still, if faced with a similar situation in the future, Mieses said, “I would do it again for my city.”