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The former New York Knicks star, Charles Oakley, said that the team's owner, James Dolan, was a "bully" for threatening to ban Madison Square Garden fans.
Oakley, a long-time NBA opponent and bouncer, said Dolan was wrong to silence a fan who told him to sell the team during a defeat at MSG.
Oakey knows as well as anyone else what it is that to be ejected from the garden, not just by referees. His criticism of the team and management led to a tense relationship with the organization, which collapsed in 2017 after his arrest after an altercation with security officials. security after they ordered him to leave his seat at the arena near Dolan. Oakley was acquitted of assault charges for minor misdemeanor last year.
"He is just trying to intimidate everyone and that makes no sense," Oakley told the Associated Press on Monday.
Oakley was irritated by Dolan's reaction after New York's defeat on Saturday and a fan shouted at the owner to "sell the team".
"Do you really think I should sell the team?" Dolan said in video on TMZ. Dolan asked the fan if he wanted to come to other games, he called it "rude" and told him "to enjoy watching them on TV".
Dolan called for safety, although it is not clear if the fan has been banned from the games.
"Our policy is and will continue to be that if you are disrespectful to anyone in our premises, we will ask you not to come back," Madison Square Garden Company said in a statement.
Oakley did not have Dolan.
"He is only harassing people because he has money and power," Oakley said.
Oakley, 55, played for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998, helping them reach the NBA Finals. He attended matches several times a year, buying his own tickets as he was no longer compiled or invited to the official duties of the team. But his relationship with the franchise was tapered even before the altercation of 2017, which included hitting a security guard in the face and jostling at least one before he was dragged and handcuffed.
Dolan lifted Oakley's ban at MSG shortly after his meeting with Oakley and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Oakley said nothing was really settled at the meeting.
Oakley said that there was no reason to reconcile with Dolan.
"Why would I want to do it with someone who brought me out of the garden for no reason," Oakley said Monday. "Why would I want to have a relationship with him?" I told him I was not happy.
The Knicks are 13-54 and in last place in the Eastern Conference and have been one of the worst teams in the NBA in the last 20 years.
"I have the right to play in 29 arenas, with the exception of the garden," he said. "They said," We'll take off your jersey, "they'll do it, but you think I want my jersey hanging outside the garden – they can still see it, but you just dragged me to the lodge. outside of … Garden. "
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