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During Tuesday’s state of the city address, Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell impressed himself with a Sonics joke that not only failed to land, it ended up upsetting and annoying a lot of basketball fans. Now, he’s explaining he didn’t come up with the joke. It came from a staffer.

“Right now, at this moment, I have an announcement to make,” Harrell said while reaching down behind his lectern. He pulled out a basketball and began spinning it in his hands as the crowd started gasping in shock and cheers.

After several beats, Harrell leaned into the microphone and declared, “Naw, I’m just kidding… I got you!” Then, he started to chuckle as he was jeered by the crowd. Based on the look on his face, he wasn’t expecting that reaction. But he should have known better.

Bruce Harrell may not ‘recover from this’ poor Sonics joke

To say that social media didn’t appreciate the stunt is an understatement. Video of the incident quickly spread online.

Locals took to X to register their condemnation. Some going so far as to , “this is up there with Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council laughing on the podium as they announced they’d let the Sonics go to Oklahoma City. Not sure you recover from this, really.”

Another of Harrell, “dude sucks.”

The Seattle Times tried to provide some cover for Harrell, who has been a vocal cheerleader for bringing the Sonics back to Seattle. In an updated story, the paper claimed the “crowd gave a laugh” in response. While maybe some laughed, there was loud jeering, forcing Harrell to calm the crowd down. The crowd clearly did not enjoy the stunt.

My brother in Christ: toying with Sonics fans will not end well for you

— Curtis Rogers (@AKidFromKent)

If he loses in November, that will be why /s

— Andy Stevens 🇺🇸 (@mrandystevens)

Wasn’t funny at all. Mayor is out of touch

— Afflicted Pharmacologist (@AfflictedPharmD)

Bruce Harrell responds

In an interview with “The Jake and Spike Show,” Harrell downplayed the joke, explaining that “it was not my idea.”

“It was brought to me literally the night before [when] we were practicing,” Harrell explained.

But he said he opted to “take a chance” with the joke because “people appreciate a mayor that will take a chance again.”

“The boos were in jest. I mean, these are friends and supporters and enthusiasts about this city. And I even got a call from my daughter who works for the Washington Football team. And so she was like, ‘Dad, come on!’ So, you know, again, you take a chance, and I think people appreciate a mayor that will take a chance again.”

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