Republican Michigan Rep. Matt Maddock publicly announced on social media Wednesday that he had mistakenly identified March Madness players as illegal immigrants.
Maddock posted on X a photo of three white buses from a distance and falsely claimed that the vehicles were “just loaded with trespassers.” The bus and police escort shown in the photo were actually used to transport the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team, Detroit-based WXYZ journalist Maxwell White responded: according to Go to RawStory. This outlet was cited by X in a community note fact-checking Madoc’s post.
“This is what’s happening right now. Three buses just picked up trespassers in Metro Detroit,” Maddock wrote to X. “Does anyone know where they are headed with a police escort?”
what’s happening now. Three buses filled with trespassers in metro Detroit. Does anyone know where they are headed with a police escort? @Pete Hookstra pic.twitter.com/3xFhIP1jf1
— Matt Maddock (@matthewmaddock) March 28, 2024
White was also quoted in a community note by X. He wrote that the basketball team was boarding a bus to attend a Sweet 16 March Madness game and criticized a Michigan lawmaker’s comments as “wild” for mistaking the basketball team for illegal immigrants. (Related: 9 of Dozens of People Who Attacked Texas National Guard Charged as Illegal Immigrants: Report)
“Just to clarify, this was the Gonzaga basketball team,” White wrote to X. “The photo shows Gonzaga on an Allegiant plane bound for Detroit for the Sweet 16, and flight radar shows the plane from GEG to DTW landing at 7:25 a.m. In the afternoon, around the time this photo was posted. This is a wild tweet. ”
Just to be clear, this was the Gonzaga basketball team.
The photo shows Gonzaga heading to Detroit for the Sweet 16 on an Allegiant plane, and Flight Radar shows a flight from GEG to DTW at 7:25 p.m. around the time the photo was posted. It is shown that it has landed.
this is a violent tweet https://t.co/dzW0IR8A5g
— Maxwell White (@MaxWhiteWXYZ) March 28, 2024
The Wayne County Airport Authority confirmed in a statement that four college basketball teams arrived in Detroit on Wednesday for the second weekend of the NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament. according to Go to NBC News. They reportedly said, “The bus shown in photos circulating online was transporting a basketball team and its staff.”
