UPDATE (7:35 p.m. ET): New York Knicks owner James Dolan left the door open to Charles Oakley one day returning to Madison Square Garden, but in the meantime, he’s indefinitely banned from MSG.
“It’s not necessarily a lifetime ban, but I think the most important thing with that is we need to keep the Garden a place that’s comfortable and safe for everybody who goes there,” Dolan said on “The Michael Kay Show,” as transcribed by USA TODAY Sports. “Anybody who comes to the Garden, whether they have been drinking too much alcohol, they’re looking for a fight, they’re abusive, disrespectful to the staff and the fans, they’re gonna be ejected, and they’re gonna be banned. … We are gonna put the ban in place, and hopefully it won’t be forever.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Going forward, Charles Oakley will be a New York Knicks legend on the outside, but he can’t come inside.
ESPN New York’s Michael Kay reported Friday on Twitter that Oakley has been banned for life from Madison Square Garden following his high-profile ejection from the arena and subsequent arrest,
Oakley, who played 10 seasons for the Knicks, was involved in a shoving match with MSG security staff Wednesday night early in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 53-year-old blames Knicks owner James Dolan for the fracas, but the team says Oakley is solely at fault for the altercation.
And since Dolan owns the team and the arena, he calls the shots in terms of who can enter the building — shots that don’t come much bigger than this one.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
