QUEENS — A Brooklyn Nets superfan known for his eccentric dancing at games died Sunday after plunging from a second-story window, authorities said.
Jeffrey Vanchiro, whose nickname was Gamblero, was well known to game-goers for wearing neon Nets’ jerseys and large glasses while dancing energetically.
He was sleeping at his father’s home on Saturday night when he woke up disoriented and fell from the window in Flushing, his fiancée Kristi Evans told the New York Times.
Vanchiro, who had a prosthetic leg, was taken to the surgical intensive care unit New York Hospital Queens with severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord, according to the hospital and reports.
His girlfriend announced his death on Twitter Sunday night.
“We lost a brilliant, unique, incredible man today. Please tell me your stories about Jeffrey Gamblero so I can share them with the world,” Evans tweeted around 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The Nets also put out a statement, in which team CEO Brett Yormark said he was "terribly saddened" by the news.
“A proud Brooklynite, Jeffrey was a passionate Nets fan and one of our most visible and loyal supporters,” Yormark said in a statement published Sunday.
“I was delighted that he joined the team on our trip to London last season and always enjoyed his enthusiasm while dancing and cheering during Nets games at Barclays Center. The entire organization expresses our deepest condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed."
Vanchiro, 38, from Flushing, recently made the news when a video shot from the bleachers showed him being escorted by Madison Square Garden security guards without his artificial leg during a Nets-Knicks game on Dec. 2.
crazy ejection of nets fan with prosthetic leg at #msg @nyknicks
A video posted by jeigs (@jeigs) on
Evans told the Times that the incident had strongly impacted Vanchiro, making him “paranoid,” “erratic” and “frightened.”
Vanchiro, who described himself as an “NBA fanatic,” worked as a graffiti artist for Lofty Goals, according to his Twitter account.
