It was back in 2017 when New York Knicks owner James Dolan removed and banned former NBA player Charles Oakley at the Madison Square Arena. Both got into a heated verbal altercation when the Knicks were hosting the Los Angeles Clippers. Making things worse for the former Knick is that he had a physical tussle with security personnel.
Things just went from bad to worse from there. Some MSG staffers claimed that Oakley was drunk when the incident took place, although the 56-year-old denied it at that time. There were two claims on how the incident started, which eventually led to a lawsuit filed by Oakley in September 2017.
A verdict on that lawsuit has been made recently with Dolan claiming victory. A federal judge found Oakley's case weak and dismissed the lawsuit, TMZ Sports reported.
"From its inception, this case has had the feel of a public relations campaign, with the parties seem more interested in the court of public opinion than the merits of their legal arguments," Judge Richard Sullivan explained. "That is perhaps understandable, given the personal and public nature of the dispute."
The Knicks released a statement after the ruling, claiming that it was an issue no one was happy about. Curiously, part of the message said: " Maybe now there can be peace between us." Apparently, this was directed at Oakley with Dolan hoping to bury the hatchet.
Unfortunately, that seems to be far from happening with Oakley wasting no time to appeal the decision. And from the looks of it, this war is far from over.
“Charles is not one to give up,” said Oakley's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a report from the New York Post. “While we are disappointed with the ruling, it’s just the beginning of the fourth quarter and we are confident that we can turn this around with an appeal that we plan to file in the coming days.”
Oakley is not the only case that Dolan has been tied up to. Just last January, the Knicks owner singled out an unnamed teenager who was chanting "sell the team" per another report from the New York Post. It was not divulged if that fan was escorted out of the building. Last year, another fan implored the same thing and got banned for life, SI.com reported. Oakley would eventually react to the two cases, calling Dolan a bully for threatening to ban fans from Madison Square Garden.
