His Grace, Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo might have thought he was making a generous concession to NFL fans after decreeing that the once-in-a-lifetime playoff game by the Buffalo Bills warranted an exception to his authoritarian coronavirus lockdowns.
However, fans though differently, homing in on comments Cuomo made expressing his desire to attend in order to demand he be banned, Outkick reported.
“I’m going to take my test, I’m going to be out there to watch the game with you, and we look forward to it,” Cuomo said in an interview while announcing a cap of 6,700 Bills fans for Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
A Change.org petition hoping to reach 25,000 signatories had gotten past the 20,000 mark as of Tuesday afternoon to force him to keep his distance.
“So Cuomo is going to attend our playoff game after telling us that we can only attend at less than 10% capacity?,” wrote petition creator Jeffrey Dorenzo.
“If he thinks he has more right to a seat in that stadium over people who have waited over 20 years for this opportunity, then people better be there to protest his entry,” Dorenzo continued. “This is OUR team! This is OUR home. We don’t want you here.”
It was unclear what sort of measures Dorenzo and his fellow petitioners hoped to take if the petition were to surpass its quota. It was not directed at any specific decision makers, but rather to “Everyone” and the “BillsMafia.”
A handful of commenters chimed in that the game-ban was not enough.
“Cuomo is a narcissistic, asshole who needs to be removed from office!” wrote Gina Chellino–Silsby.
The ire of Bills fans seemed directed not at Cuomo’s presence so much as his continuing to limit the capacity for other more deserving viewers.
However, it is not the first time Cuomo has been called out for his hypocrisy. He notably was forced to cancel his Thanksgiving plans after letting it slip that he planned to host his mother and daughters—while calling for other New Yorkers to restrict travel and limit their holiday gatherings.
Restaurant owners in New York City are so outraged over his policies that many have said they would refuse to serve him.
Ironically, Cuomo has frequently been heralded in the leftist press for his casebook handling of the pandemic, despite clear evidence of the opposite.
But New York is one of at least four blue states being investigated over the decision to co-mingle healthy and COVID-infected nursing home patients—one of several things Cuomo and other Democrat leaders may have done to exacerbate the spread during the early days of the crisis.
He also has been criticized for his failure to adequately prepare for the emergency, relying on federal relief to meet the needs of his woefully inadequate ventilator and protective equipment shortfalls after Cuomo instead prioritized controversial partisan measures like free healthcare for illegal immigrants and funding for abortions.
Other left-wing governors, including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Gavin Newsom, have likewise been excoriated over their lockdown hypocrisy.
