‘A bleeping loss’: Michael Rapaport remembers adored Post photographer Anthony Causi

As told to The Post’s Ken Davidoff.

Thanks to Anthony Causi, I have photos of me at Madison Square Garden with my father. With my kids. Even with Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James when they were just starting in the NBA.

And with Rihanna.

How I wound up in a photo with Rihanna perfectly encapsulates who Anthony was. It was the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at the Garden, and Anthony, whom I’d gotten to know well from crossing paths with him at countless sporting events, said to me, “You want to get a picture with Rihanna?” When she walked past me, Anthony was ready with his camera. She and I were talking, and he shot that photo, which I put on my Twitter account and accurately described myself as “tongue-tied.” You can see that my tongue is literally tied.

I’m still devastated over the news that Anthony died from the coronavirus. It’s a bleeping loss. It’s a bleeping loss. It’s a sad, sad loss. And my heart is broken for Anthony’s family and his kids.

I met Anthony probably close to 20 years ago at the Garden. I used to come there with my little camera, my point-and-shoot. He saw me and introduced himself, and he would say to me, “Next time, bring your good camera!” One time, at a Knicks game, he let me in the section where the professional photographers shoot. I shot terrible photos, but it was so cool. I would ask him things about photography, which really did interest me, and he was so generous with his time.

A lot of times, paparazzi and photographers take the pictures for themselves. But Anthony would come up, take a picture of you and then send you the pictures. He was always so nice to me, always so sweet. He always had a smile on his face.

He was a great sports photographer, and he captured so many iconic moments in New York sports. Whenever I went to a game, he was there. It was like he could be in two places at once! I remember seeing him at the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight in Vegas in 2017. He was at a Bernard Hopkins fight in Atlantic City. He got this amazing shot at the U.S. Open of Serena Williams’ forearms. He would capture the humanity of the athletes he shot. That speaks to the spirit of who he was. He was a 9-to-5 guy who loved what he did and cared about what he did. He would never get in your way. He was never obnoxious.

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