Dolan in his second email: "My point yesterday was about actions, and the importance of living your values"NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Knicks Owner James Dolan sent a second email to staffers to "'clarify' his stance on why the club didn't issue a statement regarding the police-related death of George Floyd," according to a source cited by Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. Dolan in his email yesterday "attempted to pacify unrest within the organization with the Knicks just one of two NBA teams not to issue a formal statement on Floyd's death." Dolan went on a "rant against racism" in his second email. He wrote, "We vehemently condemn and reject racism against anyone, period." In the first email, Dolan explained that he "didn't believe the Knicks were suited to comment publicly on police brutality." Some employees were "disappointed in the email and ESPN reported players were 'furious'" (N.Y. POST, 6/3). Dolan in his second email wrote, "My point yesterday was about actions, and the importance of living your values. At Madison Square Garden, we have worked hard to build an environment of inclusion and mutual respect and those are the values we try to live every day." Dolan: "This is how we at MSG right racism. We start with ourselves, and through our actions, we define who we are. That is how we can be an example to the wider world. That was the point of my message yesterday" (ESPN.com, 6/2).
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt writes this "isn't difficult." Even a "bland statement would work," and several NBA teams "did just that while still expressing outrage at racism and inequality and injustice." Dolan "couldn't even do that." Going after Dolan is "easy," but sometimes even that "low-hanging fruit needs to be picked." The Knicks' participation on Blackout Tuesday on social media "does not absolve Dolan from his tone-deaf message" because it is "clear he's not listening" (USA TODAY, 6/3). ESPN’s Jalen Rose said of Dolan’s email, “If this seems like suppression and/or a bully tactic to those that work for you and/or under your tutelage, it is.” ESPN's David Jacoby referenced the Knicks' recent positive moves in the front office under Leon Rose, but added, "It just seems like any time the Knicks start to gain a little bit of momentum, just start to sort of repair the reputation that they have in the world amongst NBA fans, they take two steps back." But Rose said Dolan is “not going to be a Donald Sterling, he’s not going to be forced to sell the team” (“Jalen & Jacoby,” ESPN, 6/2).
DROPPED THE BALL: ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins: “The most valuable franchise in the NBA had a choice to speak out on civil rights and they dropped the ball again.” Perkins said the Knicks “are the weakest link in the NBA” because they “don’t represent what the NBA is all about.” Perkins: “The NBA is not all about basketball. ... The NBA represents leadership and guess what, James Dolan and the New York Knicks lack in both of those categories" (“The Jump,” ESPN, 6/2).
