Vivek Ramaswamy ripped for wearing ‘knockoff’ Ohio State jersey to home opener

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Rascius, B. (2026, September 6). Vivek Ramaswamy ripped for wearing ‘knockoff’ Ohio State jersey to home opener. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/vivek-ramaswamy-ohio-jersey-fake-b3045584.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-06 · by Brendan Rascius

Quick Summary

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was mocked online for wearing what appeared to be a knockoff Ohio State jersey to the team's home opener, with commenters noting that he could easily afford an authentic jersey given his estimated net worth of $3 billion. The backlash drew 3 million views and hundreds of comments on social media platform X. Critics accused Ramaswamy of being out of touch with ordinary Ohioans by wearing a cheap-looking jersey, while some commenters defended him as the next governor of Ohio. Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent Amy Acton also criticized him for attending the U.S. Open in New York City the previous day instead of spending Labor Day Weekend in Ohio.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-07, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican nominee for Ohio governor, was mocked online after wearing what critics called a "knockoff" Ohio State jersey to the team's home opener game against Ball State in Columbus on Saturday. The jersey, which featured the Ohio State logo and the number 1, did not match the team's official red jerseys with striped sleeves. Commenters compared it to a "Temu knockoff" or something that could be bought at "Walmart". The controversy drew over 3 million views on social media platform X, where Ramaswamy had also posted photos of himself gladhanding fans in the crowd. Some critics questioned why Ramaswamy, who has a large fortune, couldn't afford an authentic jersey. One commenter even suggested that their vote might be influenced by the clothing choice, saying "I can't vote for you with that jersey on I'm sorry man."

Written for “Vivek Ramaswamy Jersey Scandal” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Vivek Ramaswamy Jersey Scandal
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
5 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 2816 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brendan Rascius
76 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Brendan Rascius
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 76 articles by Brendan Rascius →

Topics

OSU Ohio Ohio State’s Walmart the U.S. Open

Subjects

Ramaswamy PERSON · 8× Ohio GPE · 4× OSU ORG · 2× Vivek Ramaswamy PERSON · 2× Walmart ORG · 2× Ball State ORG · 1× Columbus ORG · 1× Ohio State’s ORG · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Trump PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“Vivek Ramaswamy thinks he is too good to spend Labor Day Weekend in Ohio, instead jetting off in his private plane to watch the U.S. Open in VIP seating with his billionaire friends,” she wrote on X. Still other commenters seized on a viral 2024 post by Ramaswamy in which he wrote that American culture venerates “mediocrity” over excellence.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 One even said that the clothing choice could impact his decision at the ballot box, writing: “I can’t vote for you with that jersey on I’m sorry man.”

Claims (21 extracted, 5 hedged)

Ohio governor hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was mocked online after attending Ohio State’s home opener in what commenters described as a “knockoff” jersey. asserted
commenters → mock → jersey
The Trump-endorsed Republican nominee watched Saturday’s game against Ball State in Columbus and later posted photos of himself gladhanding fans in the crowd. asserted
himself → endorse → crowd
Let’s go Bucks,” he wrote on X. The post quickly went viral, drawing 3 million views and hundreds of comments. asserted
post → let → comments
College football fans homed in on Ramaswamy’s black jersey — which featured the Ohio State logo and the number 1 — noting it did not match the team’s official red jerseys with striped sleeves. asserted
it → home → sleeves
According to critics, Ramaswamy’s outfit resembled a “Temu knockoff,” the “generic CVS” version, and something “fresh off the rack at Walmart.” uncertain
outfit → accord → Walmart
One even said that the clothing choice could impact his decision at the ballot box, writing: “I can’t vote for you with that jersey on I’m sorry man.” uncertain
I → say → jersey
The Independent has contacted Ramaswamy’s campaign for comment. asserted
Independent → contact → comment
The backlash appeared to hinge less on fashion than on optics: the gubernatorial candidate has a massive fortune and could easily afford an authentic jersey – or hundreds. uncertain
candidate → appear → jersey
Ramaswamy, an Ohio native, Harvard graduate and founder of a drug development company, has an estimated net worth of $3 billion, according to Forbes. uncertain
Ramaswamy → have → Forbes
“You’re a billionaire, why don’t you own an officially licensed OSU jersey?” wrote one X user, while another chimed in: “A billionaire in a knockoff jersey. asserted
another → ’re → jersey
That seems fitting.” asserted
That → seem → ?
Others sought to paint Ramaswamy — who won the GOP primary in May — as an out-of-touch member of the coastal elite, noting that he appeared to have attended the U.S. Open in New York City the previous day. “This loser flies in late from NY tennis match, slaps on a $19.99 Walmart special OSU jersey, probably given to him by handlers, cuz, you know, optics, and does his kissing babies routine,” one X user wrote. uncertain
user → seek → routine
Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, slammed her opponent for attending the tennis tournament in a Saturday social media post. asserted
Acton → slam → post
“Vivek Ramaswamy thinks he is too good to spend Labor Day Weekend in Ohio, instead jetting off in his private plane to watch the U.S. Open in VIP seating with his billionaire friends,” she wrote on X. Still other commenters seized on a viral 2024 post by Ramaswamy in which he wrote that American culture venerates “mediocrity” over excellence. asserted
culture → think → excellence
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote at the time. asserted
he → celebrate → time
“I thought celebrating sports was dumb?” wrote one X user, while another added:“Man, mimicking the culture you mock… interesting.” asserted
you → think → culture
Some commenters, however, came to Ramaswamy’s defense. asserted
commenters → come → defense
“Hilarious how many people think claiming that Vivek's jersey is ‘fake’ or ‘cheap’ is a gotcha,” wrote one user. asserted
user → think → ?
Ladies and gentlemen,” wrote another. asserted
another → write → ?
Ramaswamy will face off against Acton on November 3. asserted
Ramaswamy → face → November
Polls indicate it is shaping up to be a close race. asserted
it → indicate → ?
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