Former NBAer Charles Oakley was "hauled out" of MSG last night by security, then "handcuffed and taken to jail in front of a stunned star-studded crowd just a few feet" from MSG Chair James Dolan during Clippers-Knicks on ESPN, according to Isola, Burke, Bondy & Popper of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Oakley "vehemently denied that he yelled" at Dolan "moments before being thrown out by several security guards." Oakley said that MSG security "asked him to leave because Dolan did not want him there." Oakley: "They came over and wanted to know why I was sitting there. I bought the ticket. I said why do you guys keep staring at me. Then they asked me to leave. And I said I’m not leaving.” What followed was the "ugliest chapter yet in a rapidly deteriorating Knicks season, all on full display in front of a nationally televised audience" and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Oakley was "confronted by security, forcefully shoving one guard and appearing to strike another before he was physically removed from the stands." However, sources confirmed that the scuffle was "provoked by the former Knick yelling at his longtime nemesis Dolan." Oakley's incident with security was "not far from tennis legend John McEnroe and with Dolan standing nearby." Knicks President Phil Jackson "unsuccessfully tried to calm down the emotional Oakley." Oakley has a "contentious history with Dolan and has been excluded from invitations and tributes reserved for former players" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/9). In N.Y., Mike Vorkunov cites spectators as saying that they "did not see Oakley exchange any words with Dolan or try to provoke him." Oakley in an interview last year said of Dolan, "The boss don’t like me." He said that in the past he has "tried to meet with Dolan but has been rebuffed" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/9).
CAN'T LOOK AWAY: In N.Y., Frank Isola writes under the header, "Knicks' Treatment Of Charles Oakley Is An Embarrassment." Shortly after Oakley was removed from MSG, the team "issued a classless press release saying 'we hope he gets some help soon.'" The Knicks are "champions of spin, that's for sure." Oakley said that he "purchased his own tickets and was seated two rows behind" Dolan. Isola writes the Knicks were "out of line for harassing a paying customer and then trying to humiliate him by releasing a statement and saying he needs help." Isola: "Make no mistake about it, the Knicks are officially back to being the biggest joke in the NBA. The team is [a] mess" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/9). Also in N.Y., Mike Vaccaro writes under the header, "Charles Oakley Meltdown Latest Sad Scene For Sad-Sack Knicks." Vaccaro: "This is what the Knicks have become. This is the residue that stains today, when memory is no longer capable of parting the clouds and halting the misery. This is the haphazard slapstick slop show the Garden Knicks are now" (N.Y. POST, 2/9). ESPN's Mike Greenberg: "This is, I guess, more public and more embarrassing, but it’s really not that far removed from things we've been seeing happen there for a long time.” ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "The circumstances are different, but every Knicks season, it feels like, comes down to a circus like this. It just seems like it happens year after year after year." ESPN's Jalen Rose said the "dysfunction that's taking place" with the Knicks is "not only becoming an embarrassment to their franchise and their fans, but also to the NBA" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 2/9). ESPN N.Y.'s Ian Begley writes under the header, "New York Knicks' Circus Keeps Finding New Ways To Amaze" (ESPNNY.com, 2/9).
MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Fans were chanting Oakley's name during the incident, and ESPN's Mike Golic said he is "going to be a hero to the fans because every single fan, at that moment, wanted to be Charles Oakley." For the "situation that the Knicks are in and what Phil Jackson is doing, and they all know it starts with Dolan at the top, every fan would have loved to have had a chance to be in the face of James Dolan." Golic said of Dolan, "If he truly just basically had Charles Oakley removed and Charles Oakley did nothing, I don't even know what to say. I don’t even know where to go anymore. Adam Silver was at the game. If this, in fact, happened, he should walk over and take the keys away from Dolan. Say, ‘Okay, you're done.’” ESPN's Greenberg: "I 100% believe that Charles sat down, that he hadn't said a word to anyone, that James Dolan saw him there and because James Dolan is James Dolan, and everyone knows the history of things he’s done, above and beyond the mismanagement of the Knicks as a basketball product." ESPN's Windhorst said of Oakley, "Whether he bought the ticket or was given the ticket or whatever, he has the right to come and he also has the right, if he wants, to heckle the owner like anybody else who comes to a Knicks game" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 2/9). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, "Dolan is a billionaire who does not care. He's an individual that for the most part doesn't give a damn about what people think. As long as they're sitting there and they’re walking through those turnstiles and they're watching the Knicks game and the Knicks as an organization are making money, he is going to be just fine" ("First Take,"ESPN, 2/9). FS1's Skip Bayless: "What Oakley did embodied all the emotion that is directed towards the most despised owner, I think, in sports, James Dolan. I don't think it's even close. ... It probably felt pretty good to a lot of Knicks fans” (“Undisputed,” FS1, 2/9).
SHOULD DOLAN STEP IN? The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ben Cohen wrote under the header, "Another Awful Week For Knicks." This week was "already an official disaster" for the Knicks when Jackson indirectly called out F Carmelo Anthony on Twitter. Cohen: "Just a normal week in the life of the Knicks, now in the midst of another full-on meltdown" (WSJ.com, 2/8). USA TODAY's Sam Amick writes Dolan "does deserve a stern talking to these days." If "ever there was a time for someone to hurl some truth Dolan’s way, to perhaps point out that there has never been more dysfunction between a star player" in Anthony and a team exec in Jackson who cost $184M combined, "it’s now." Dolan was the one who "renewed hope less than three years ago by signing Jackson" to a five-year, $60M contract. But with Jackson "clearly unhinged in his aggressive approach, Dolan needs to step in and somehow calm these waters again" (USA TODAY, 2/9). SNY's Jon Hein said, "Maybe it's time for Mr. Dolan to step in and try to fix this mess. … The one guy who could actually make a difference this year is the owner of the team. He can light a fire under Phil Jackson." But SNY contributor JR Jackson said Dolan interjecting is "not going to do anything." He said, "Jim Dolan has to figure out something, the New York Knicks need continuity. ... The New York Knicks need to forget the circus they have now and bring an entire new young ringmaster, that's it” (“Loud Mouths,” SNY, 2/8). In N.Y., Marc Berman notes before "being a central figure" in last night's incident, Dolan had "stayed behind the scenes, remained out of the limelight, content to let Phil be Phil." Maybe Dolan "didn’t know everything he was getting into when he hired Jackson" (N.Y. POST, 2/9). ESPN's Golic: "It almost can't get worse for the Knicks and this could make it even worse. ... Everybody is wondering where Dolan's been" between Jackson and Anthony ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 2/9).
TWITTER REAX: Basketball HOFer Reggie Miller: "If true James Dolan hasn't wanted @CharlesOakley34 around organization, DAMN SHAME. Oak sweated for Knicks." Spencer Checketts, the son of former Knicks President Dave Checketts, tweeted, "Just got off the phone with my dad. He's currently attempting to bail Oakley out of jail. This is beyond said. Knicks should be ashamed." ESPN's Fran Fraschilla: "Got to give it to Charles Oakley. Hardest a Knick has played in Garden all season." ESPN's Rachel Nichols: "The #Knicks could go 0-82 and it would not lose them as many fans as it would if they actually press charges against Charles Oakley." AP's Jenna Fryer: "On Charles Oakley, witness told @NYDailyNews 'He took off his watch and asked somebody to hold his watch.' #NASCAR people understand." ESPN's Jemele Hill: "If Charles Oakley really was trying to fight James Dolan, he might get a parade in New York."
