In what will go down as the most exciting moment of either team's season, a well-known Nets fan was physically ejected from last night's game against the Knicks. His prosthetic leg—which security guards said he had used to hit another fan, something disputed by multiple eyewitnesses—was left behind.
Jeffrey Gamblero, 38, has been a dancing, neon-clad fixture at Nets games almost from day 1 in Brooklyn. Profiled by the Times last month, Gamblero is a graffiti artist and professional poker player, and lost his left leg below the knee in an unspecified accident at age 21. He's been embraced by the team to the point where Mikhail Prokhorov flew him to London on the team plane for a game last season.
But to security at Madison Square Garden last night, where the Nets beat the Knicks 98-93, Gamblero was just another visiting fan.
MSG staffers and security guards were telling media that Gamblero was ejected in the third quarter for using his prosthesis as a weapon:
Another told ESPN New York that Gamblero was "obnoxious and yelling" and that "people were complaining," but no mention of him swinging his leg.
On Twitter there was no shortage of witnesses. Via NetsDaily:
The Brooklyn Game received the fullest eyewitness account, from a fan named Max who was sitting behind Gamblero:
An MSG spokesperson released this statement following the game:
Jeffrey Gamblero, 38, has been a dancing, neon-clad fixture at Nets games almost from day 1 in Brooklyn. Profiled by the Times last month, Gamblero is a graffiti artist and professional poker player, and lost his left leg below the knee in an unspecified accident at age 21. He's been embraced by the team to the point where Mikhail Prokhorov flew him to London on the team plane for a game last season.
But to security at Madison Square Garden last night, where the Nets beat the Knicks 98-93, Gamblero was just another visiting fan.
MSG staffers and security guards were telling media that Gamblero was ejected in the third quarter for using his prosthesis as a weapon:
According to a pair of Garden security guards who declined to be identified, the man pulled off his prosthetic leg and hit another fan with it, inciting a ruckus in the upper deck.
"They grabbed him and pulled him out," the staffer said. "I don't know if he was arrested but they got him out of there so he didn't start a riot."
But fans sitting nearby insisted that nothing physical went down. "I saw what happened," one fan told the Daily News. "He didn't deserve to be thrown out. He was just into the game.""They grabbed him and pulled him out," the staffer said. "I don't know if he was arrested but they got him out of there so he didn't start a riot."
Another told ESPN New York that Gamblero was "obnoxious and yelling" and that "people were complaining," but no mention of him swinging his leg.
On Twitter there was no shortage of witnesses. Via NetsDaily:
The Brooklyn Game received the fullest eyewitness account, from a fan named Max who was sitting behind Gamblero:
(Gamblero) was being his usual self, absolutely no cursing, no negative cheering, just dancing and loud cheering for the Nets. Never attacked a Knicks fan, never got out of hand.
After halftime a guard came up and told him to "cool down and just be a fan." Obviously didn't know who he was. He said what did I do wrong? Should I be quiet? They said no, just cool it down. He started loudly cheering FOR the Knicks doing "go New York go New York go," etc. The guards came back and told him to stop. He said why? Is this a library?
Then the main guard on the floor gave the signal to kick him out. He would not leave. A guard then touched his leg and he said "ouch you're hurting me I have a prosthetic leg." He then took off the leg, which is when things escalated.
More and more guards surrounded him as he watched the game with his leg resting on his shoulder. They tried to get him to put his leg on, threatened to arrest him if he wouldn't, but he wasn't moving.
[...]
I am a lifelong Nets fan but regardless, this was one of the cruelest and most upsetting things I have ever seen.
After halftime a guard came up and told him to "cool down and just be a fan." Obviously didn't know who he was. He said what did I do wrong? Should I be quiet? They said no, just cool it down. He started loudly cheering FOR the Knicks doing "go New York go New York go," etc. The guards came back and told him to stop. He said why? Is this a library?
Then the main guard on the floor gave the signal to kick him out. He would not leave. A guard then touched his leg and he said "ouch you're hurting me I have a prosthetic leg." He then took off the leg, which is when things escalated.
More and more guards surrounded him as he watched the game with his leg resting on his shoulder. They tried to get him to put his leg on, threatened to arrest him if he wouldn't, but he wasn't moving.
[...]
I am a lifelong Nets fan but regardless, this was one of the cruelest and most upsetting things I have ever seen.
An MSG spokesperson released this statement following the game:
An unruly fan was ejected after MSG Security received multiple complaints from fans sitting in that area. The fan was warned multiple times before being removed. He will not be permitted back into Madison Square Garden.
[h=1]Jeffrey Gamblero, Brooklyn Nets superfan with prosthetic leg, dead after fall from window – two weeks after being kicked out of Madison Square Garden[/h] [h=2]According to the New York Times, Gamblero was staying at his father's house in Flushing when he leapt out of the window, suffering severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord.[/h]
A one-legged Nets superfan whose rowdy behavior recently got him booted from Madison Square Garden died Sunday after falling from a second-story window in Queens.
Jeffrey Gamblero, 38, died at New York Hospital Queens after tumbling from his father’s apartment window late Saturday.
“We lost a brilliant, unique, incredible man today,” Gamblero’s fiancée, Kristi Evans, tweeted.
Gamblero suffered severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord in the fall, Evans said. She said he had been on a life-support machine since the accident and that his brain had stopped functioning on Sunday morning.
Gamblero’s father told Evans that his son was apparently disoriented when he woke up late Saturday and somehow tumbled from the building.
The death comes less than two weeks after Gamblero — who lives in Williamsburg — was dragged kicking and screaming out of Madison Square Garden without his prosthetic leg during a Nets-Knicks game on Dec. 2.
Garden security officials said fans had complained of Gamblero’s unruly behavior and that he had been warned to settle down before his ejection.
<figure class="a-image h">
Howard Simmons/New York Daily News Gamblero is carried out of his seats by MSG security during a recent Knicks-Nets game without his prosthetic leg, an incident his family said negatively influenced his behavior.
He was not arrested, however.
Gamblero told The News he had suffered “bumps and bruises” in the Garden incident and as a result had been under heavy medication.
“Regarding the fall, all I can say is that he has been dealing with the stress and trauma of what happened at Madison Square Garden,” Evans told The News at the hospital.
Evans said Gamblero, who lost his leg in an accident when he was 17, became radically different after the Garden ruckus.
“It’s been tough for him since then,” she said. “He wasn’t a crazy fan hitting people with his prosthetic leg. That was a lie. He’s a good man.”
Earlier, she told The New York Times that Gamblero had become “paranoid, erratic (and) frightened” after the Garden booting.
<figure class="a-image h">
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News Gamblero in front of the Barclays Center in 2013. </figure>
“He was horrified (and) a bit delusional,” she said.
Gamblero has gained notoriety as one of the most boisterous Nets fans since the NBA team started playing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2012.
He became known for wearing neon-colored game outfits and dancing in the aisles at Barclays during games.
The Nets plan to honor Gamblero at Tuesday’s game against the Miami Heat in Brooklyn.
“On behalf of ownership and the entire organization, I am terribly saddened to learn about Jeffrey’s death,” Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said in a statement. “A proud Brooklynite, Jeffrey was a passionate Nets fan and one of our most visible and loyal supporters.”
The Nets invited Gamblero on the team’s trip to London last season.
“The entire organization expresses our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” Yormark said. “He will be missed.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...hetic-leg-life-support-fall-article-1.2045278
</figure>
A one-legged Nets superfan whose rowdy behavior recently got him booted from Madison Square Garden died Sunday after falling from a second-story window in Queens.
Jeffrey Gamblero, 38, died at New York Hospital Queens after tumbling from his father’s apartment window late Saturday.
“We lost a brilliant, unique, incredible man today,” Gamblero’s fiancée, Kristi Evans, tweeted.
Gamblero suffered severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord in the fall, Evans said. She said he had been on a life-support machine since the accident and that his brain had stopped functioning on Sunday morning.
Gamblero’s father told Evans that his son was apparently disoriented when he woke up late Saturday and somehow tumbled from the building.
The death comes less than two weeks after Gamblero — who lives in Williamsburg — was dragged kicking and screaming out of Madison Square Garden without his prosthetic leg during a Nets-Knicks game on Dec. 2.
Garden security officials said fans had complained of Gamblero’s unruly behavior and that he had been warned to settle down before his ejection.
<figure class="a-image h">
He was not arrested, however.
Gamblero told The News he had suffered “bumps and bruises” in the Garden incident and as a result had been under heavy medication.
“Regarding the fall, all I can say is that he has been dealing with the stress and trauma of what happened at Madison Square Garden,” Evans told The News at the hospital.
Evans said Gamblero, who lost his leg in an accident when he was 17, became radically different after the Garden ruckus.
“It’s been tough for him since then,” she said. “He wasn’t a crazy fan hitting people with his prosthetic leg. That was a lie. He’s a good man.”
Earlier, she told The New York Times that Gamblero had become “paranoid, erratic (and) frightened” after the Garden booting.
<figure class="a-image h">
“He was horrified (and) a bit delusional,” she said.
Gamblero has gained notoriety as one of the most boisterous Nets fans since the NBA team started playing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2012.
He became known for wearing neon-colored game outfits and dancing in the aisles at Barclays during games.
The Nets plan to honor Gamblero at Tuesday’s game against the Miami Heat in Brooklyn.
“On behalf of ownership and the entire organization, I am terribly saddened to learn about Jeffrey’s death,” Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said in a statement. “A proud Brooklynite, Jeffrey was a passionate Nets fan and one of our most visible and loyal supporters.”
The Nets invited Gamblero on the team’s trip to London last season.
“The entire organization expresses our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” Yormark said. “He will be missed.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...hetic-leg-life-support-fall-article-1.2045278
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The first story i read had this part...
On Sunday, the Nets superfan died after a mysterious plunge from a window at his father’s home in Queens. Gamblero, whose real name was Jeffrey Vanchiro, was staying with his parents when he awoke and appeared to be disoriented. His family said Jeffrey ran down a hallway and leapt head-first out of a window, landing on his head and suffering severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1680181/je...ous-plunge-out-of-window/#Dk97RJ3tvAOcAg5B.99
