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Brooklyn Trash Talk: De Blasio disses Nets, team claps back with tweet

‘If You Want to See Some Real Grit, Our Doors Are Always Open.’

December 7, 2017 By Scott Enman Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Mayor Bill de Blasio dissed the Nets at a town hall meeting in Queens on Tuesday. The team responded on Twitter by inviting de Blasio to Barclays Center. AP file photo by John Minchillo
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Barclays Center is primarily known for being the home of the Nets and Islanders, but the arena is also recognized for hosting premier boxing matches.

And a heavyweight bout could be in the works following a feud that started this week between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Brooklyn Nets.

At a town hall on Tuesday in Queens, de Blasio fielded several questions from attendees. One resident wearing a Nets jacket began to ask about traffic safety when the mayor interrupted him.

“I’m from Brooklyn too, but this Brooklyn Nets idea has not been working out as it was planned,” de Blasio said. “So I admire you for sticking with them.”

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De Blasio is not a Brooklyn native. He was born in Manhattan and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He does, however, own a home in Park Slope.

On Wednesday, the Nets responded to de Blasio’s remark on the team’s official Twitter account.

“Hello, @NYCMayor. From one Brooklynite to another, you should know that we always have each other’s backs,” the Tweet read. “Like all of NYC, we’re always grinding to get better. If you want to see some real grit, our doors are always open.”

While the Nets did possess the worst record in the NBA last season, the team has made the playoffs in three of its five seasons in Brooklyn since arriving in 2012.

In fact, the Nets progressed to the Conference Semifinals in the team’s second campaign in Kings County.

At press time, the team was in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 9-14 record.

As a city councilmember, de Blasio supported the Nets’ move to Brooklyn and backed Atlantic Yards.

Eric Phillips, de Blasio’s press secretary, attempted to act as a mediator on Wednesday.

“The mayor’s a fan and rooting for you guys!” Phillips wrote in response to the Nets’ Tweet. “We’ll find a way to get him to do it in person. #NoBloodNoFoul?”

This was not the first time de Blasio has become involved in New York sports trash talk.

In October, de Blasio told the Daily News that it was “constitutionally impossible” for him to root for the Yankees in the playoffs since he is a fervent Red Sox fan.

At a debate in October, de Blasio’s opponent Bo Dietl said, “First of all, I’ve got to say, go Yankees! I know one thing. Mayor de Blasio’s a Boston Red Sox fan! He’s not a Yankee fan.”

De Blasio did, however, recognize the Mets’ recent success at the town hall. It was a shrewd remark, given that the Mets play at Citi Field in Queens.  

De Blasio has also previously taken a stab at the New York Jets.

“I also have a lot of sympathy for Jets fans who have gone through a lot over the years,” de Blasio said in a 2013 interview with 1010 WINS. “So, even though I don’t support their team, I have sympathy for them.”

De Blasio has voiced his support for the New England Patriots on several occasions.

While it’s unlikely the mayor will strap on boxing gloves, perhaps a game of one-on-one could settle this dispute once and for all.

 

De Blasio will attend a town hall in South Slope on Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. at JHS/MS 88 – Peter Rouget School.

 


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