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The ugly battle between New York Knicks owner James Dolan an ex-Knck Charles Oakley has gotten even more acrimonious.
Dolan told ESPN New York on Friday that Oakley, a 10-year player with the Knicks from 1988 to 1998 has been indefinitely banned from the Madison Square Garden.
Additionally, Dolan said he was firing Frank Benedetto, former senior vice president for security at MSG, in connection with the incident with Oakley.
Dolan’s pronouncements come two days after Oakley was forcibly removed from the Knicks’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night and arrested.
“That was just a situation where the person didn’t work out and this was probably the last straw,” Dolan told the radio station. “We’re obviously looking at everything that we did here along the way and what happened. That’s one of the casualties.”
Oakley, 53, has repeatedly said he was trying to fix his relationship with Dolan after being arrested for an altercation near the owner Wednesday night.
Interestingly, Dolan said his decision wasn’t necessarily a “lifetime move,” but the team wanted to keep the Garden “a place that’s comfortable and safe.”
Oakley, perhaps one of the most beloved players in the history of the franchise, was arrested and charged with three counts of assault Wednesday following an altercation in the stands that took place near the Knicks owner .
Various reports indicate that Oakley bought a seat near Dolan and was repeatedly making heckling comments to him during the game.
“This isn’t because I’m nervous,” Dolan said in comments reported by Pro Basketball Talk. “This because you can’t do what he did and stay.”
Dolan also accused Oakley of anger management problems and also said “he may have a problem with alcohol, we don’t know.”
Other reports indicate that Oakley is peeved with the team for not including him during a year-long celebration of the 70th anniversary of the franchise.
Coupled with the lingering feud between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony and the reputation of the Knicks has never looked worse.
The once-proud franchise appears to be a laughing stock for many observers across the NBA.
Tgriffin@express-news.net
Twitter: @TimGriffinBig12
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