Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against members of the press Wednesday for criticizing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ celebration after their Super Bowl victory.

“The media is worried about that, obviously,” DeSantis said in response to a reporter expressing concern over the Buccaneers’ celebration.

“You guys really love that. You don’t care as much if it’s a quote-‘peaceful protest,’ and then it’s fine,” the Republican continued. “You don’t care as much if they’re celebrating a Biden election, you only care about it if it’s people that you don’t like. So I’m a Bucs fan. I’m damn proud of what they did on Sunday night.”

Mainstream media reports were aghast at images of celebrating fans in the streets of Tampa after the hometown Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 Sunday night. 

Before the game kicked off, CNN reporter Randi Kaye, double-masked and apparently distressed by the sight of fans drinking and not wearing masks, told viewers she had asked Tampa police what they could do about the situation and quoted officers as being “very disappointed.” 

The New York Times also expressed concern about the possible “superspreader” event when Buccaneers fans celebrated the win, in contrast to their headline about street celebrations following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

While the latter crowd wore more masks, the difference in tone was noticed by media watchdogs.

The city’s own Democratic mayor, Jane Castor, said Monday the scenes were “a little frustrating because we have worked so hard. At this point in dealing with COVID-19, there is a level of frustration when you see that.”

However, Castor herself was photographed not wearing a mask during celebrations of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship in October.