Kiyan Anthony might need to brush up on his geography. Carmelo Anthony’s son just triggered people living in a 55,000 square mile radius with his comments. His opinion is a common sore point among New Yorkers and ‘real’ New Yorkers. But the 18-year-old could’ve done without the tone deaf claim. Now, fans are mad.

During a live stream, Kiyan responded to a fan who said they’re from the Western part of New York state. “Western? You say you’re from Western New York? Where is that? If you’re not from Brooklyn, Long Island, the Bronx, Manhattan, or… Long Island… I guess… Queens, my fault… Harlem is part of the city… but if you’re from Buffalo, upstate, even Long Island is cool like, Queens, Long Island… right when you enter Long Island. If you’re deep in the island… if you’re from Buffalo, if you’re from Upstate New York, if you’re from… trying to think of other spots like… yeah, I don’t even know.”

Kiyan, who was born in Denver in 2007 when his father was still playing with the Nuggets, grew up in New York. His parents are Brooklyn-born and bred as well, although Melo spent part of his childhood in Baltimore. He used to attend Christ the King High School in Queens, but transferred to Long Island Lutheran High School. So you can see where his affinity for these particular cities comes from.

As much as they say New York is a sentiment, this struck a nerve for too many people. Everyone who felt ostracized by Kiyan’s comments was quick to lash out.

Carmelo Anthony’s son Kiyan, is getting schooled in geography

Kiyan’s notion isn’t new. Most people don’t consider any area beyond the five boroughs as New York CITY. Long Islanders take grave offense if you count them as NYC. He’s got a fair bit of agreement in this.

Yet you can’t fight geography. So others had to point out there’s some hypocrisy here. Upstate New York, which Kiyan discarded, contains cities like Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse. Syracuse is a central part of the state, but it’s where Carmelo Anthony won an NCAA championship over twenty years ago. It’s where Kiyan has been since June. So someone had to remind him, “Saying this when ur going to Syracuse is crazy.” 

One said, “Says the n—- that grew up in a gated community in the middle of nowhere.” Nowhere would be between his mom, La La Anthony’s Brooklyn apartment she bought in 2021, or Carmelo Anthony’s 13,000 sq ft. mansion in Westchester. But someone even said, “IF UR NORTH OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY UR NOT FROM NY LOLOL ROCKLAND COUNTY ISNT FROM NY.” So he’s not all that alone.

They also noticed Kiyan tried hard to validate Long Island, where he graduated from. Again, being a Long Islander is a whole other sentiment, and most locals hate getting mixed up with the Big Apple (or in some cases, the rest of the state). So he either got responses like, “You don’t gotta think young king, Long Island ain’t down,” or, “Wait he said LI lol aye man somebody tell him Long Island is not NYC.”

While Buffalo is used to being neglected, the way he struggled to utter that city didn’t sit right with many even pointed out, “The absolute disgust on his face when he said Buffalo.” Some give him a pass after this video because, as this one noted, “Kid barely knows New York just based on this vid lmaooooo.” Or they mock him with comments like, “He failed geography :/”

While a couple of social media users believe Kiyan didn’t have to respond to the fan this way at all, a few add clarity to what he meant. “They from New York State not New York City is where he’s getting at, which is correct.” That is usually a common misconception. But not everyone who says it has the same platform as a Knicks legend’s son.