NBA star Kyle Kuzma, power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, rebuked New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal.”
Kuzma’s attack on Mamdani came several days after the mayor shared a clip on social media in which he doubled down on his opposition to Netanyahu, referring to him as a war criminal.
“I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he said.
Though Mamdani said that he would arrest Netanyahu on war crimes charges if he came to New York City, he admitted that he did not have the legal authority to do so.
In an X post on Sunday, Kuzma essentially accused Mamdani of cosplaying as a president while essentially decrying the current culture of promoting people who pretend while doing little else.
“This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record actually to be. Just for content,” he said. “A mayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing one-on-one thinking he’s a pro. A 25-year-old with a ring light playing economist. “
“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,” he continued. “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.”