Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma launched a scathing attack on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after Mamdani called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal" in a viral video.
Mamdani shared a two-minute clip on social media on Tuesday renewing his criticism of Netanyahu and reiterating his opposition to Israel's military campaign. He urged the federal government to consider arresting Netanyahu based on the International Criminal Court warrant against him, having previously acknowledged that his own intent to detain the Israeli leader could face legal difficulties.
"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does," Mamdani said in the video. "Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City. Nor is any other war criminal at large."
The clip quickly went viral, and Kuzma was among those who responded. Writing on X, he said: "This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don't have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content."
"A mayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing one-on-one thinking he's a pro. A 25yr old with a ring light playing economist," Kuzma continued. "Everyone auditioning. Nobody building. We're raising a generation that's learning the reward isn't in doing the thing it's in looking like you did the thing."
"The clip is the career. The pose is the product. The soundbite is the substitute for a life's work. Don't fall for distractions," he added.
Netanyahu's expected US visits
Netanyahu may travel to Washington, D.C. next week for Lindsey Graham's funeral and is expected to visit New York in September for the UN General Assembly. Earlier in the week, Donald Trump defended the Israeli leader on Truth Social, writing in a Monday post that Netanyahu "will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America."
Mamdani's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republican New York City Council member Inna Vernikov mocked Mamdani on X, asking why he didn't have his legal team evaluate the idea "before you made it a core promise to your comrades." Conservative commentator Stephen Miller described the mayor's stance as "just another broken campaign promise for his goober electorate" in a post of his own.
International diplomacy is generally the purview of the federal government rather than local city governments, which is why Mamdani asked federal authorities to act against Netanyahu.
Mamdani addressed the criticism at an unrelated press conference. "I have made clear both that I believe that this is an arrest warrant that should be executed and also that I would follow the laws that we had," he said.
Mamdani's office made headlines earlier this month when his international affairs chief reportedly tried to meet with Iran's ambassador to the UN, prompting a rebuke from the State Department. Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were accused by the ICC in 2024 of committing crimes against humanity during Israel's war in Gaza.
