A Nets fan with a prosthetic leg was carried out of Madison Square Garden during Tuesday night’s Nets-Knicks game. The man reportedly elicited complaints from other fans about being loud, and was later carried out of the arena by security.
Fans recognized the man and have identified him as Jeffrey Vanchiro—one of the Nets most well-known supporters who is known for wearing neon outfits. The professional poker player goes by the nickname of “Jeffrey Gamblero.”
According to people on Twitter, the guy carried horizontally out of MSG in the third quarter was Nets superfan Jeffrey Gamblero.
— Andrew Keh (@andrewkeh) December 3, 2014
A Knicks spokesman recently released a statement about the incident.
Here’s full statement from a #Knicks spokesman on the Nets fan who was ejected in this video: http://t.co/LwXjuz0EkJ pic.twitter.com/BklZS6RWx3 — Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 3, 2014
And here’s the kicker: An MSG employee said the man used his prosthetic leg as a weapon and hit someone.
MSG Employee just told me this dude hit someone with his prosthetic leg before he was ejected. NYPD was called http://t.co/ydNxALTe3T — Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) December 3, 2014
MSG staffer says that the Nets super fan that was kicked out without his prosthetic leg was ejected because he had hit somebody with it. — Nick Metallinos (@NickMetallinos) December 3, 2014
But another eyewitness said he never swung the leg.
@KennyDucey I was a few rows behind him. No one near saw him swing his leg at anyone. He was just being loud.
— +1 (@plusonemusic) December 3, 2014
@KennyDucey the whole section was chanting “let him stay” & security patiently talked to him for a few minutes before carrying him out.
— +1 (@plusonemusic) December 3, 2014
[UPDATE] Jesse Eigner, the eyewitness who published the Instagram video shown above, recently released his side of the story on Twitter. He said the man brandished his prosthetic leg, but did not mention him swinging it or hitting anyone.
Here's a first-person account from @jeigs, who filmed the incident pic.twitter.com/Cz4gRXFbgo
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) December 3, 2014
Whether or not the man actually swung the prosthetic leg, this will be an interesting story to follow in the near future. Hopefully we’ll get to hear his account of what happened.
[H/T: SB Nation]
[Photo credit: @EricSoufer]