Charles Oakley gets banned for life from Madison Square Garden
The Charles Oakley farce keeps getting weirder as the New York Knicks legend has been banned from Madison Square Garden.
On Wednesday, Charles Oakley was watching the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The legend got into a war of words with owner James Dolan and it ended with the Knicks legend getting escorted out of MSG. Oakley faces several counts, including unlawful trespassing and three counts of assault. It’s the latest chapter in the farce the Knicks have become. According to Michael Kay, Oakley is banished from MSG.
Michael Kay just reported Charles Oakley is banned for life from the Garden.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) February 10, 2017
It’s impossible to think how the Knicks could have handled the situation in a less professional manner. Their press release sounded like something written by a bitter eight year old. Moreover, banning a legend like Oakley isn’t a good way to establish goodwill towards the fan base.
Dolan has not been anything like his father Charles Dolan, who has done far more to help the city of New York and MSG. His list of transgressions is starting to get impressively long. When you hire Isiah Thomas to lead your front office and it’s not the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, it’s quite telling. The dumbest thing he’s ever done? How about emailing a critical Knicks fan telling her to root for the Brooklyn Nets? Looking at the future of the Knickerbockers, that might not be a terrible idea.
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He has been often criticized for a lack of playoff appearances. Somehow, Dolan has wasted an extremely good player in Carmelo Anthony. Sure, Melo isn’t quite at the level of LeBron Jones or Steph Curry, but he’s the biggest star to play basketball at MSG in quite some time. Oakley’s ban is also concerning because it reflects how legends have been treated under Dolan. Don’t expect this soap opera to end as long as Dolan is in charge.