Legendary broadcaster Jim White was involved in a bizarre altercation with a New York police officer at the World Cup.
White, who hosts the show White and Jordan on talkSPORT alongside former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, is in the US to cover the tournament.
The 69-year-old has been recording his shows in the One World Trade Centre and was on his way there on Thursday when he ran into an issue.
White recalled the incident to fellow talkSPORT presenter Paul Hawksbee and explained how his route to work was blocked off by ‘gridlocked’ traffic.
This was because basketball team the New York Knicks were having a parade after winning the NBA Championship for the first time since 1973, with White explaining how this led to ‘chaos’ on the streets.
In his desperation to get to work, White made the bold decision to skip over a barrier, a choice that left him in hot water, as he was confronted by a New York police officer by the name of Vinny.
Jim White revealed he was ‘flattened’ by a New York police officer as he rushed to get to work
White explained how there was ‘chaos’ and ‘gridlock’ on the streets due to the New York Knicks parade after they won the NBA Championship
‘The place is absolutely gridlocked,’ he recalled. ‘My hotel is less than an hour away. So I set off a bit earlier, but then I had problems trying to approach the World Trade Center.
‘As you can see, I’m in, but the crucial moment came, Paul, when there was a barrier in front of me and I decided, right, do I or don’t I? And, surrounded by Knicks fans, I decided to jump the barrier.
‘I was flattened by one of NYPD’s finest. They then told me, “hey, buddy, if you pull that stunt again, you’ll be arrested”.’
A ‘flustered’ White added: ‘I said, “Vinny, you’ve got to help me here. My name is Jim White. I do a show on talkSPORT with Simon Jordan. White and Jordan, you must have heard of it”.
‘And he looked at me as if, uh-huh, carry on. And he said, “right, let’s see what we can do”. And Vinny, the senior policeman, and I’ll send a picture of this later, walks me to the top of Broadway and then down to the World Trade Center.
‘And I have made it, so has producer Luke. So has Troy Deeney. Let me tell you, Simon Jordan is out there somewhere in amongst two million Knicks fans.
‘Brad Friedel is in the same hotel as me and I don’t think Brad has decided it would be extremely prudent to jump the barrier trying to get here. There is utter chaos here, Paul, let me tell you. Chaos.’
Despite White’s concerns, Jordan arrived at the studio soon after and insisted he wasn’t troubled on his way into work, although some of the show’s production staff were struggling to get there on time.
In a post on X later in the day, White shared a photo of him outside the studio with a police officer that appeared to be Vinny.
He added: ‘A massive thanks to this senior NYPD officer who kindly guided me through strict security at the New York Knicks NBA Championship winning parade this morning!
‘He got me on air at @talkSPORT and I’m forever grateful!’
He also posted a photo of one street being gridlocked during the parade and said: ‘The NY Knicks Parade – no way through!!’
