MSG President Dave Checketts held a press conference
yesterday in N.Y. and discussed his denial, and then
confirmation on Sunday, that he spoke with Phil Jackson
about possibly coaching the Knicks. Checketts: "I regret
that I have lied about that. That I misled the press and I
also misled [Knicks coach] Jeff Van Gundy about that. I
have, in the last few hours, met with Jeff and told him
that's what I did and that if anything, what I did is err on
the side of trying to protect everybody" (ESPN, 5/24).
Checketts, asked if his credibility was damaged: "I'm sure
there's some trust that I have to rebuild, there's no
question about that, I admit that" (N.Y. POST, 5/25).
JUST THE FACTS, PLEASE: In N.Y., Kevin Kernan calls
Checketts' news conference "Clinton-esque" and writes that
Checketts "has taken a serious credibility hit" (N.Y. POST,
5/25). TBS' Kenny Smith, on Checketts' explanation: "It's
just a weak statement" (TBS, 5/24). In N.Y., Wallace
Matthews: "Over the past 48 hours Dave Checketts, former
wonder boy, has succeeded in blowing whatever trust he had
built up in the media, with his players, and most of all,
with his coach" (N.Y. POST, 5/25). In Hartford, Jeff Jacobs
calls Checketts a "stool pigeon" and writes: "[He] got
caught in so many fibs, he had to tell the truth before he
suffocated on his own tongue" (HARTFORD COURANT, 5/25). In
N.Y., Mike Lupica writes that though he was "protecting the
organization," Checketts "looked very bad" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS,
5/25). Also in N.Y., Bob Raissman: "The pattern of lying is
hard to swallow. ... The Garden boss comes out of this
showing he can engage in double-talk. He now must know if
you set the spin cycle for a prolonged run, you will get
burned -- deservedly so" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/25).
JUST DOING HIS JOB? But in N.Y., George Vecsey writes
that it's "hard to fault Checketts for planning for major
contingencies," because "that is what" CEOs "must do" (N.Y.
TIMES, 5/25). In N.Y., Peter Vecsey: "I, for one ... am
convinced Checketts did what any sound-thinking executive
would have done (except for lying about precise
circumstances) with the organization in shambles" (N.Y.
POST, 5/25). In Boston, Bob Ryan writes that an incident
like this "is why no member of the media should ever get too
righteous about being lied to. It's seldom personal. It
comes with the territory" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/25).
