Kai Cenat claims NYPD put a stop to his appearance at Nike basketball event

Kai Cenat claimed he didn’t attend a Nike basketball event as the New York Police Department stated they wouldn’t offer any surveillance if he did.

In February, the Twitch streamer confirmed that he had partnered up with Nike, however, Kai revealed not everything has been running smoothly since inking the deal.

Spilling the tea during an August 13 broadcast, Kai told his friends and viewers alike about how he allegedly missed out on the chance to host a basketball tournament after the NYPD stepped in.

According to Kai, the New York City Police Department told Nike they would not be monitoring or offering their protection if the popular internet personality made an appearance.

Describing the situation as some “crazy sh**”, Kai claimed he was supposed to introduce the teams competing at the event, but lost out on the opportunity.

This was because the NYPD allegedly told Nike that if Kai ‘showed up’ for the event, they wouldn’t offer their services.

“We are not protecting the event and [you are going to] have to be on your own,” Kai recounted, visibly frustrated that he couldn’t go and blaming the NYPD. “The police didn’t want to do the job that they were supposed to do.”

He then joked about hosting another giveaway, as the last one resulted in the Twitch star being charged with inciting a riot in August 2023 and ultimately paying a hefty fine.

The clip was shared on X, with many viewers theorizing that it was Kai’s history with the riot that had caused the NYPD to threaten to step out.

While fans slammed the police department for icing out Kai, some were in support: “This is a reasonable statement. You would literally need the whole force to control the fandom that would come out to see Kai, that would take a lot of manpower.”

“They know Kai and his fans will destroy the place,” one person said. Another wrote, “If I was the NYPD I wouldn’t protect that sh** either. Last time he caused a f***ing riot in New York.”