Getty Charles Oakley on the red carpet at Shaq's Fun House.
The New York Knicks are experiencing a resurgence they haven’t seen since the 1990s, motivating legends to come out to sit courtside and support the home team. Well, except Charles Oakley, who gave a thanks-but-no-thanks response to his invite.
The Knicks have a 2-1 series lead over the Indiana Pacers, guaranteeing that there will be another game at Madison Square Garden this season, if not in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Oakley told The Associated Press, “I guess their lawyer called my lawyer saying it’s a good time for you to come back to the Garden.” He would later say, “I think it’s a bad time to ask me to come to a game. The case is still going. You ain’t trying to settle a case. The case is still pending. Take care of your business with the case and let the game worry about the game, you know what I’m saying? You’re not doing anything special. If you were trying to do something special, you wouldn’t have done this.”
What Happened?
The bad blood between Oakley and the Knicks had been brewing for a few years before the infamous 2017 Madison Square Garden ejection that triggered the current lawsuits. Oakley had referred to Dolan as a “bad guy” in a New York Daily News story, to be followed by a New York Times report that stated Oakley had “been estranged from the Knicks organization for years, a rift that stems, at least in part, from Oakley’s inability to keep some of his more caustic opinions to himself.”
In layman’s terms, the Knicks didn’t want one of their own speaking negatively about the franchise. Oakley hasn’t been shy about criticizing the Knicks, including a recent barb thrown at Patrick Ewing.
The 2017 incident — which is still being battled in court — was a result of Oakley voicing his opinions in the direction of Dolan, when suddenly security approached him and asked him to leave. After a period of arguing, including then-President Phil Jackson coming down, Oakley was escorted out, where he’s accused of punching three MSG employees.
Will it Ever End?
It’s really a sad situation, as Knicks fans know that Oakley left his blood, sweat and tears on the court. After the altercation, Oakley said, “I’m a Knicks fan, played here 10 years. I love the Knicks. I love New York. This is my heart. I wish them all the luck and success on the basketball court. I don’t know why I’m not welcome into the Garden.”
Oakley arrived in New York via a trade with the Chicago Bulls before the 1988-89 season. He’d play for the Knicks through the 1997-98 season, making the NBA All-Star team in 1993-94. The Knicks would make the NBA Playoffs all 10 seasons that Oakley played for them, losing in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs once, the Eastern Conference Semifinals seven times, the Eastern Conference Finals once and the NBA Finals once.
When asked what it would take for Oakley to accept the Knicks invite, the request was simple, “they’ve got to apologize.”