Charging that the treatment of Charles Oakley was “Eric Garner without the chokehold,” Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams said he will meet Monday morning with Knicks owner James Dolan and Garden officials over the incident that resulted in the Knicks legend being banned from the Garden.
“This is a blemish, not only on the Knicks, Madison Square Garden, but sports. Any time you have a player who gave his heart and his soul to the team and the city, to be treated in that fashion, sends a chilling impact. I saw this as Eric Garner without the chokehold,” Adams said, referencing the Staten Island man who died in police custody in 2014.
“These things can escalate too quickly if we do not use reasonable tolerance and tone to de-escalate situations like this,” Adams said, “I was alarmed as a Knick fan, I was disgusted as a black man and I want to make a clear statement that we are better than this as a city, as a team and as a player. And we are looking forward to sitting down with Mr. Dolan and his executive team tomorrow and find out exactly what took place and find out how we can add our voices to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Adams, a former NYPD captain, and a group of African American educators, businessmen and attorneys gathered Sunday in the chill and rain in front of the Seventh Avenue entrance to Penn Station, in the shadow of Madison Square Garden, before the Knicks hosted the Spurs. They asked that the assault charges be dropped against Oakley, who was arrested after his confrontation with Garden security Wednesday. They also want the ban on Oakley announced by Dolan on Friday to be lifted.
Adams said Dolan and his team contacted them, and the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Monday. Oakley will not be present.
“We look forward to meeting with Borough President Eric Adams and making him aware of all the facts surrounding the events at Madison Square Garden last week,” Dolan said in an email.
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