Adam Levy weighs in on Knicks parade security After NYC celebration chaos

The New York Knicks may have won the NBA championship, but Judge Adam Levy said the celebrations went too far as the city descended into chaos and violence.

Some Knicks fans in New York City responded to their team’s win by setting fire to school buses, climbing scaffolding, lampposts and statues, and committing violence. Witnesses reported gunshots in Times Square, where the NYPD told Fox News Digital that a 17-year-old was injured.

The New York Police Department had its hands full a few nights ago when the Knicks pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. They arrested several people on charges stemming from a wild watch party in Bryant Park.

Judge Judith Sheindlin’s son Levy, who will soon star in the new series “Adam’s Law”, said enough is enough and noted that those most affected by Saturday’s attack were law-abiding citizens.

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“I’m going to focus on the thousands of fans who were peacefully celebrating,” Levy told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “So when the Knicks won, the vast majority of people who went to watch the game in New York City were peaceful. They celebrated. And that’s the way it should be. They took photos, they hugged strangers, and they went home. They were raised to understand the difference between celebration and destruction. The minority, a very small number of individuals, are the people the NYPD and prosecutors should be focusing on.”

Sixty-three people were arrested in Saturday’s post-game disturbance. Levy hoped they would face justice quickly.

“And of those 63, prosecutors need to focus their resources on repeat offenders,” he said. “No one should be at this point; none of the 63 should walk away with a slap on the wrist.”

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Thousands of New York Knicks fans gather inside and outside Madison Square Garden and celebrate following the Knicks’ NBA Finals Game 2 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on June 5, 2026 in New York City. Several fans were arrested for climbing light poles and other structures during the celebrations. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Levy said there are a number of factors that may contribute to the lawless environment, particularly from home.

“I say the fish smell from head to toe, and when I say that, it’s not just a group, it’s not just one fish,” he said. “You’ve got parents failing their children. You’ve got schools failing their children, and you’ve got the government failing – by children, I mean rebels – and the government failing them. It’s a trifecta that parents fail, for whatever reason, to teach morality at home, responsibility at home. Schools focus on other things than reinforcing that. And the government is certainly responsible for looking the other way and risking the safety and lives of law-abiding citizens by not enforcing and not enforcing. Prosecute those who break the law, and those are the consequences.” Same as what you see in 63 idiots.”

Levy, a former district attorney in New York’s Putnam County, has plenty of experience dealing with criminals.

“I defended such fools for twelve years,” he said. “And I prosecuted them for 13 years. So I know the difference between stupid bad kids and those who really need a quick kick. And who needs the weight of the criminal justice system to fall on them. I mean, they don’t become hardened criminals. It’s not rocket science.”

Levy warned that authority figures should remember to lay down the law and not worry too much about the possible consequences of playing it cool or doing their job properly.

“And when there are people in charge – when there are parents, school staff, and government officials who want to be the child’s friend, when there are people who are afraid of name-calling by the public who have a completely misguided view of parenting, education, training, and the government’s responsibility to protect law-abiding citizens. When there are people who are afraid of being called names. You know, ‘You’re a Nazi, you’re a Nazi. You, you know, want to put everyone in jail.’ It’s not, and I refuse to make excuses for the kids. ‘It’s not their fault, it’s their environment. It’s not their fault, they had a difficult upbringing. It’s not their fault.’ It needs to stop.”

Judge Adam Levy on “Adam’s Law.” (Most important)

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Levy’s mother, who starred on “Judge Judy” for 25 seasons, offered similar advice to parents in a 2024 Fox News Digital interview.

“Parents sometimes get into trouble when they say ‘we just want to be our kids’ friends,'” she said. “But just like adults, children need rules. So the country is in the current situation because the rules have become blurry.”

“And if you don’t, this is the outcome,” Levy said of those potentially shirking responsibility in the Big Apple. “I mean, when you think about these idiots who were there and arrested, those tens of thousands of people who come from the same background as these idiots, who act like they do. How is it that 99.9% of everyone there can abide by the law, can celebrate peacefully, but these people can’t? And just by giving them a slap on the wrist… It sends the wrong message to them and to the others who will see how they turn out. They’ve been treated and behaved similarly. Repeat, they’ll do the same thing at the next celebration.”

And the next celebration has already arrived. Thursday marks the Knicks’ victory parade in New York City, and Levy balked at whether the scenes would be similar to Saturday.

“I worry about the people who go there, the law-abiding citizens who want to go there with their families and their kids and celebrate their team’s win,” he said. “Because they’re the ones put directly at risk by parents who refuse to parent, schools who refuse to teach, and government officials who refuse to hold people accountable when they break the law. That’s the problem.”

Politicians generally don’t have to deal with turmoil, he noted.

“Government officials are not standing in the crowd,” he said. “Government officials are good people, they’re separated, they’re safely away, looking on from high platforms. They won’t get hit in the head with a bottle. They won’t get stabbed in the back by some crazy person. Their bags won’t be stolen because they’re safe.”

“Merge politicians with ordinary people, force them to mingle, force them to not feel safe,” he continued. “Force them to think twice about bringing their own kids for fear their kids will get run over, set on fire, stabbed, shot. Because politicians will only change until that happens. Every politician has a plan, until they get punched in the face or their kid gets punched in the face.”

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Levy’s new show, “Adam’s Law,” from CBS Media Ventures, will premiere nationally on Sept. 14. The program is produced by Judy Sheindlin’s Queen Bee Productions. Levy previously starred in Amazon’s reality court show “Tribunal Justice.”

Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.