Charles Oakley still is waiting for the NBA to impose some justice on his behalf.
The former New York Knicks star told USA TODAY’s “For the Win” podcast this week he expected NBA commissioner Adam Silver to fine or suspend Knicks owner James Dolan for his role in their public feud.
Silver, Oakley, Dolan and Michael Jordan met in the aftermath of Oakley’s Feb. 8 arrest at Madison Square Garden, with Dolan agreeing to lift Oakley’s ban from the arena. But Oakley, who is facing three criminal charges from the fracas, said Silver also should have punished Dolan for the ugly incident.
“The meeting we went to before the All-Star break, everybody was like, ‘OK, we’re going to put the helping hand in,’ ” Oakley said. “They put the hand in, but they didn’t do anything about the issue, what’s going on. I’m still fighting it — three charges. I like my team, I like myself, and I know I didn’t do anything wrong. We’re going to fight it. …
“I think (Dolan) should have been fined or suspended, a month or 10 games. (Silver) fined the owner of the Houston Rockets $100,000 for walking up to the official.”
Oakley will return to court May 30 to fight the charges, and he remains incredulous over how the Knicks handled the situation.
“What do you want me to do?” he said. “I’m a man, too. I know you’ve got a lot of money, but it isn’t about money. A lot of people have money. You can’t be an (expletive) with money. They made a statement before the game was over. They tried to run me over with an 18-wheeler; I just got out of the way in time.”
“They’re going forward with it, so I don’t have a choice. Three more charges — assault, harassment and trespassing. Really? Trespassing? You see what happens with this, you see why everything else (with the existentially disappointing Knicks franchise) is going wrong. They don’t get it.”
Oakley played for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
