Michigan Rep. calls NCAA basketball team ‘illegal invaders’ upon arrival in Detroit
A Michigan lawmaker took aim at “illegal invaders” arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Wednesday, but the “invaders” were actually student-athletes who traveled to Detroit for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games.
In his false description of a photo showing buses lined up near one of the terminals, Rep. Matthew Maddock, RMilford, wrote: “Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?”
A community note underneath the post clarified the buses were there for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, not a group of migrants. A Wayne County Airport Authority spokesperson also confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that the buses were carrying men’s basketball teams competing in Detroit for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.
“The four men’s basketball teams competing in the NCAA Tournaments’ Sweet 16 at Little Caesars Arena arrived at DTW Wednesday evening,” said a WCAA spokesperson over email, referring to the airport by its code letters. “The buses seen in a photograph circulating online were transporting the basketball teams and their respective staffs.”
Among the teams competing in Detroit for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games March 28-31 are the Tennessee Volunteers, who play the Creighton Bluejays at the Little Caesars Arena at approximately 10:15 p.m. Friday. Purdue is the fourth team in the bracket.
Here’s what to know.
Were the Tennessee Volunteers traveling on the buses pictured?
No, the Tennessee Volunteers landed at DTW at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT.
According to plane tracking website FlightAware.com, an Allegiant flight took off from Spokane International
Airport in Washington at around 1 p.m. local time and arrived at DTW just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Gonzaga University is located in Spokane, Wash.
Additionally, a post from the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team X account shows the players boarding a Delta flight on Wednesday.
What else did Rep. Matthew Maddock say?
In a follow up to his original post, Maddock said hundreds of thousands of “illegals” are pouring into the United States, Michigan included.
Multiple X users replied to Maddock’s original tweet pointing out the buses were carrying student athletes, Maddock responded by calling the users, “kommies.”
Falsely identifying someone as ‘illegal’ also got U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett in trouble
Maddock isn’t the first lawmaker to come under fire for falsely identifying someone as undocumented online.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett was sued in federal court after he falsely identified a man as an “illegal alien” and as a one of the shooters responsible during the Kansas City Super Bowl celebration.
Burchett represents Tennessee’s second district and previously served as mayor of Knox County for eight years.
After a fatal shooting at a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration on Feb. 14, Burchett took to X and posted a photo of Denton Loudermill in handcuffs at the parade, falsely saying he was one of the shooters and an undocumented resident.
Loudermill was arrested due to being suspected of being drunk in public. He was released and police never suspected he was connected to the shooting.
Loudermill stated in the lawsuit that Burchett’s claims caused him mental distress and emotional suffering. He is asking for $75,000 due to the “highly offensive” nature of Burchett’s accusations.
The Detroit Free Press and the Knoxville News Sentinel contributed to this report.
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @_leyvadiana