Whatever Adam Silver and Michael Jordan told New York Knicks owner James Dolan on Monday, apparently it worked.
The Knicks lifted their indefinite ban of Charles Oakley from Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, sources told ESPN.com’s Stephen A. Smith and the Undefeated’s Mike Wise.
Dolan put the ban in place last Friday.
This news is the latest turn in a bizarre saga involving Oakley, who was arrested last Wednesday after shoving a security guard during a Knicks game. Reports were conflicted about who was to blame for the incident, with Oakley claiming Dolan provoked him and Dolan insisting Oakley was drunk. Many fans and players sided with Oakley, but Dolan came down hard on the former Knick, initially claiming he’d “never be allowed to enter MSG again.”
But Silver intervened Monday, as the NBA commissioner sat down with both parties at the league’s headquarters in New York while Jordan joined the conversation via phone.
While the ban reportedly is lifted, this fiasco isn’t over; Oakley told ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman he wants the Knicks to apologize for how they treated him.
“It’s not about being at the Garden,” Oakley said. “It’s about the fans. I want them to apologize to the fans. I told the commissioner I want them to apologize to the fans.”
Oakley also told ESPN’s Dan Le Batard he wouldn’t attend a Knicks game as Dolan’s guest if the owner offered.
“Right now, no,” he said. “I told him yesterday.”
