Former NBAer Charles Oakley "dug in his heels Thursday, maintaining the eruption during the Knicks game" at MSG on Wednesday that led to his ejection and subsequent arrest resulted from team Chair James Dolan’s security people "demanding he leave," according to Fred Kerber of the N.Y. POST. While Oakley "defended himself," MSG brass "did the opposite, essentially accusing the ex-Knick of lying, calling his recounting of events 'pure fiction.'" Oakley said, "I’m a straight-up guy. You know that from my career. You know I wasn’t heckling this guy." Oakley said that as soon as he arrived for the seat he paid for at MSG, security "informed the owner his rival was near." Oakley: "They have to tell him when I come into the Garden." A source said that MSG security "believes Oakley was drinking before the game, and Oakley confirmed that Thursday night" (N.Y. POST, 2/10). Oakley said of his scuffle with security, "I shouldn’t have put my hands on anyone, but how [the Knicks] are saying it happened isn’t how it happened" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 2/9). In N.Y., Marc Berman notes Knicks President Phil Jackson, a Bulls assistant coach when Oakley played in Chicago, "could be a mediator." Jackson "moved fast in joining Oakley in the Garden bowels to attempt to calm him down after his fight with security." Former MSG President Dave Checketts also attempted to "bail" Oakley out of jail (N.Y. POST, 2/10). DNAINFO NEW YORK's Murray Weiss cites a source a saying that Dolan has "fired his top security chief" in the wake of the Oakley incident. The source said that MSG Senior VP/Security Frank Benedetto was "fired Friday morning" (DNAINFO.com, 2/10).
FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT: Oakley on Thursday appeared on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" to discuss the incident, an began the interview by apologizing to "all the fans at the Garden" because "it was just a bad scene." Oakley: "I walk into the Garden. I was there four minutes. I sit down, I’m talking to people, people talking back to me and one of the guys I’m with tells me, ‘Why are those guys watching you, looking at you?' ... Then 8-10 guys come up and say, "We've got orders, you have to leave.'" Smith: "Did you say anything to James Dolan." Oakley: "No. ... I did not know the man was sitting in front of me at first until (security) walked over." Oakley said of his relationship with Dolan, "I’m not going to argue with James Dolan. I really have no beef (with him). I’ve been trying to sit down with this man for four or five years to find out what did I do to make him dislike me" ("The Stephen A. Smith Show," ESPN Radio, 2/10).
SUPPORT POURS IN: In N.Y., Scott Cacciola writes if the episode was a "product of years of festering animosity" between Oakley and Dolan, then the "fallout was swift, with the public and a number of prominent NBA players quickly siding with Oakley." Clippers G Chris Paul "bristled at the Knicks’ statement on Wednesday night that Oakley needed some sort of help," and Paul described him as "the realest person our league has seen." Bulls G Dwyane Wade and Cavaliers F LeBron James "posted photographs of Oakley from his playing days with the Knicks on their Instagram accounts" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/10). ESPN's Pablo Torre said Oakley is the "avatar for the old-school New York that has been destroyed by Jim Dolan" (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 2/9).
NOT FEELING PART OF THE FAMILY: In N.Y., Berman notes the Knicks "stage frequent alumni reunions but Oakley is never invited." Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman said, "The other night, he didn’t understand not being part of the 70th anniversary events" (N.Y. POST, 2/10).Oakley said that in the past he has been "open to meeting with Dolan and has been approached by many potential mediators for such a sit-down." He said that Dolan has "refused" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 2/9).
PR NIGHTMARE: In N.Y., Frank Isola writes the Knicks "will use the next few days to create the narrative that Oakley is a monster." Isola: "Their media cronies are already out in full force." However, as the Knicks "declare a public relations war on Oakley they need to realize this is a fight they can’t win" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/10). In DC, Tim Bontemps writes the Knicks are the "epicenter of a never-ending stream of insanity over the past 15 years." Rather than "just letting this story die on its own," the team's PR staff with its Twitter posts "threw a giant can of gasoline on it not once, but twice, with incendiary statements." At this point, "whether Oakley or the Knicks are to blame for the situation is irrelevant." By the way they have "handled this story, Dolan and the Knicks have made Oakley into a martyr" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/10). ESPN’s Bomani Jones said in a PR battle of Oakley vs. Dolan, the Knicks owner is “going to lose and in Madison Square Garden, the only people on Dolan’s side are the security guards" (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 2/9).
EMBARRASSING TIMES: In New Jersey, Tara Sullivan writes for "so much of the current reign of Knicks dysfunction, the public images of embarrassment have been largely limited to the befuddled face" of Jackson or to "screen shots of Jackson’s bizarre Twitter musings." And yet, the Knicks "found a new image of ugliness Wednesday, one that managed to make Jackson look reasonable." Score another "low point" for Dolan, the man who "makes truth of the cliché about being born on third base and believing you’d hit a triple" (Bergen RECORD, 2/10). THE RINGER's Jason Concepcion wrote the Knicks are a franchise that has "shown itself, time and again in the Dolan era, to be sincerely and aggressively idiotic" (THERINGER.com, 2/10). ESPN's Rachel Nichols said, "We are seriously at the point people, where if someone told me with the Knicks that purple horned frogs were raining from the ceiling at Madison Square Garden, I would 100% believe them." Nichols said Oakley being hauled off out of the stands was "pretty much just as weird" ("The Jump," ESPN, 2/9). In DC, Des Bieler writes the Knicks "seem amazingly adept at coming up with new ways to become the NBA's laughingstock" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/10).The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes the word "tragicomic" is the "closest expression of what’s become routine at Madison Square Garden for much of the past decade and a half." Gay: "It is both sad and pretty funny" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/10). The Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone said of the Knicks, "I’m not so sure the NBA doesn’t have to look into this once again" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/9).
