NEW YORK — It’s past midnight and Jayson Williams is beyond furious.
Williams has been fuming in Florida for hours, angrier at the New York Knicks and owner James Dolan than he ever was when he faced them as a player for the cross-town rival New Jersey Nets.
Williams isn’t just upset that his best friend, Charles Oakley, was arrested and charged with three counts of assault following an altercation in the stands at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
What has Williams irate is the statement the Knicks put out moments after Oakley had been wrestled by Madison Square Garden security down onto the same floor where he used to collect almost as many floor burns as rebounds.
Williams said Dolan and the Knicks crossed the line by saying Oakley “was a great Knick, and we hope he gets some help soon” at the end of their statement.
“What pissed me off is when the (statement) said ‘help’ that they made it look like he was intoxicated,” Williams told ESPN. “(If the Knicks meant Oakley had an) anger issue … the anger issue is what made the Knicks what they were. … It wasn’t about no damn anger issue when he was on the basketball court (playing for the Knicks). This made it look like the man was intoxicated. … Charles Oakley buys a ticket to a Knicks game, and what is wrong with that? He is paying his $300 to watch the Knicks play.
“That statement was meant to hurt Oak. That was hateful. … (Dolan) meant to hurt Oak.”
The entirety of the Knicks statement on Twitter said: “Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department. He was a great Knick, and we hope he gets some help soon.”
The way the statement ended did not sit well with Williams, who has battled addiction.
“For a man who is not in treatment and for somebody to make the assumption that (Oakley) needs treatment is not what the program is about,” Williams said.
Williams has been in rehab and says he just recently celebrated his one-year anniversary of being sober. The person who is “the biggest pillar” in his life is Oakley, who calls Williams multiple times every day starting at 7 a.m. to check on his friend. Williams said when he was in prison, Oakley was a regular visitor.
Williams has been dealing with his own personal demons for years, recently admitting during an interview with “60 Minutes Sports” that he was “being a coward” on the night in 2002 when he shot his limo driver, Gus Christofi, to death and tried to cover it up. Williams, who was convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting but was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and served an 18-month prison sentence before also serving another eight-month sentence for driving under the influence. The former All-Star with the Nets drank heavily, saying at his lowest moments that he would down “a fifth of moonshine” daily.
Williams was not the only one to take exception to the Knicks’ statement. Via Twitter on Thursday, Chris Paul also bristled at the idea that Oakley needs help.
Hope that he gets some help soon? Not the right way to portray Oak…always had my back and the realest person our league has seen #UncleOak
— Chris Paul (@CP3) February 9, 2017
It’s no secret Oakley and Dolan have long been feuding. Oakley is one of the most beloved Knicks ever, legendary for his complete disregard for his body — whether it was chasing another loose ball, delivering bone-crushing picks, rebounding, or being Patrick Ewing’s and other teammates’ 24/7 bodyguard on the court in an era that required it.
If Ewing was the franchise’s heart and John Starks defined the team’s desire during the 1990s, Oakley was the never-ending hustle that embodied New York City.
But Oakley is as outspoken as he is strong and prideful. He was devastated when he was traded to Toronto for Marcus Camby after a decade in New York. Yet Oakley never stopped loving the Knicks and New York.
So when his beloved Knicks are struggling, old-school-to-the-core Oak will criticize anybody he deems deserving of it — sparing no one, especially the owner.
And that is a no-no at Madison Square Garden. During a season in which the Knicks have rolled out the red carpet for several of their beloved former players to celebrate their 70th season, Oakley has been Knick non grata.
Williams said he spoke to Oakley earlier Wednesday and knew the former Knick had purchased a ticket to see the Knicks play the Clippers. A police source told ESPN that Oakley purchased a seat a few rows behind Dolan and made comments at Dolan.
“I can guarantee you that he was not trying (to heckle Dolan),” Williams said. “I remember those two getting together to talk (one time). Me and a couple of other guys, we tried putting them together in a room, like, ‘This is New York, you guys got to get together (and try to bury the hard feelings).’
“Both of them said nothing to each other like two little kids. This might have been 10 years ago. They just stared at each other, and no one said nothing for about two minutes and walked away.”
On Wednesday, security went to usher Oakley out when the former Knicks enforcer pushed and shoved back as things got ugly. Even by the dysfunctional Knicks’ standards, this was bizarre and sad.
“That was tough for me to watch,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who played with Oakley in New York for two-plus seasons in the mid-1990s. “Honest to God, you could see it. I actually took three steps and I swear I was going to run down there, and I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do?’ But I didn’t like that. That’s my guy. That was tough to watch from where I was standing.
“He’s the best teammate in the world,” added Rivers, who still keeps in touch with Oakley. “… I’ve been in the league a long time; I’ve never seen anything like that.”
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