JPMorgan executive who went viral for dumping trash during Knicks parade is reportedly fired

This year has been a year of sporting comebacks. But if you ask a New York resident, nothing can measure up to the first NBA championship win for the New York Knicks in more than 50 years — and that goes beyond just sports. The parade had its highs, literally with some people climbing onto balconies of commercial buildings. But it also had its fair share of lows, with scenes of people misbehaving, and one JPMorgan executive has now lost her job because of it.

Thousands gathered along Broadway in lower Manhattan to celebrate with the team and its bevy of famous supporters like Timothée Chalamet and longtime Madison Square Garden courtside fixture Spike Lee. The parade was capped off with an impassioned speech from Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrating the team’s tenacity while also reminding people to enjoy the day responsibly.

Conservative commentators took endless jabs

Angie Baez, 40, apparently did not heed that advice. Fox News reports that Baez was an Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement for Card and Connected Commerce at JPMorgan Chase — a title that alone was enough for conservative commentators to take endless jabs at her. But what she allegedly did drew criticism far beyond political circles.

Ahead of the celebration, Mayor Mamdani’s administration had distributed limited-edition trash cans throughout Manhattan emblazoned with the Knicks’ iconic orange-and-blue colorway. It was another small way for the city to share in the championship as a community.

Baez, however, decided that she wanted one of the trash cans for herself. Not only that, she was recorded removing one of the cans, dumping the garbage onto the street, and then walking away gleefully. The video quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The clip garnered millions of views, and very few people found anything amusing about the behavior. After all, nobody likes littering. One could argue that even people who litter do not enjoy seeing others do it. To make matters worse, Baez later posed for a photograph with the trash can inside the subway, smiling for the camera.

As is often the case these days, people began contacting her employer, JPMorgan Chase. The company, which has at times defended employees whom it believed were being unfairly targeted online, apparently viewed the behavior differently and soon released a statement saying that Baez was no longer with the company.

She went viral again

That update itself also went viral. In the comments under posts announcing her firing, many people expressed disbelief over what could have possessed Baez to behave that way. One user wrote, “How to destroy a career in 3 sec. I don’t get it. Cameras are everywhere. There is no more anonymity in the world.” Another added, “When people have positions like that they have to remember that they don’t only represent themselves. This is pure insanity.”

This is a situation where the lesson may not even be that someone is always watching. After all, from the looks of it, Baez recorded some of the footage herself. Instead, it appears to be a case of someone losing their head in the excitement of a sports celebration. With the World Cup still underway, perhaps this serves as a timely reminder that celebrations can sometimes go too far.