Jeffrey Gamblero Dies: Brooklyn Nets Superfan Killed After Mysterious Plunge Out Of Window

Jeffrey Gamblero was known as the most colorful fan of the Brooklyn Nets, a boisterous fan who wore neon to games and was tossed out of Madison Square Garden for being too loud in support of his team.

On Sunday, the Nets superfan died after a mysterious plunge from a window at his father’s home in Queens. Gamblero, whose real name was Jeffrey Vanchiro, was staying with his parents when he awoke and appeared to be disoriented. His family said Jeffrey ran down a hallway and leapt head-first out of a window, landing on his head and suffering severe brain damage and a fractured spinal cord.

Gamblero was on life support, but died on Sunday night.

Gamblero’s parents and fiance Kristi Evans said they were perplexed by Gamblero’s death.

“He’s never, ever exhibited any suicidal tendencies,” Evans said. “He jumped out of the bed, ran down the hallway… and then threw himself out of a window headfirst and landed on his head.”

But Jeffrey Gamblero did have one traumatic incident in the last month. On December 2, he tried to bring his Nets superfan show to Madison Square Garden, but was kicked out by security, minus his artificial leg. Family members say the incident left Gamblero traumatized, and the superfan himself said he was shaken by it.

“I’m alive. I’m not my normal self, but I’m working towards getting back to that,” Gamblero told ESPN, saying that at the time he was Jeffrey Vanchiro. “I have a lot of recovery to do: physically, mentally, emotionally.”

Evans added that Gamblero’s personality seemed to shift after the incident.

“After that, he was a completely different person,” Evans said. “He was paranoid. He was erratic. He was frightened. He was horrified. He was a bit delusional. He was having a lot of trouble sleeping. He couldn’t sleep at all. When he would sleep, or try to sleep, it would only take about 10 or 15 minutes before he would jump up screaming covered in sweat.”

Jeffrey Gamblero rose to fame thanks to a a New York Times profile that talked about his popularity. Gamblero endeared himself to the franchise so much that the Nets took him to London last season, where he met team owner Mikhail Prokhorov and ate breakfast with the team.

“I think he’s a great representation of what Brooklyn means to us and the fandom we’re looking for from all Brooklynites,” Brett Yormark, chief executive of the Nets and Barclays Center, said in November. “I’m hoping we can find more Jeffreys.”

Aside from his status as the premier Brooklyn Nets superfan, Jeffrey Gamblero also had a reputation as one of the most prolific graffiti artists in New York City, and later made a living as professional poker player.

[Image via New York Times]