Written by Cindy Boren at Washington Post.com
It was just another night in Madison Square Garden, where the New York Knicks were experiencing another drubbing under the dismal ownership of James Dolan.
The stands were filled with celebrities and pseudo-celebrities and then the surreal happened when Charles Oakley, a beloved fan favorite from what passes for the team’s most recent glory days because of his physical style of play, was hauled out of his seat by security guards, handcuffed and arrested. All of this played out during the middle of the Knicks’ nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Oakley had been sitting mere feet from Dolan.
“I was there for four minutes,” Oakley told the New York Daily News late Wednesday night. “I didn’t say anything to him. I swear on my mother. They came over and wanted to know why I was sitting there. I bought the ticket. I said why do you guys keep staring at me. Then they asked me to leave. And I said I’m not leaving.”
Oakley, who played for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998, shoved a guard and appeared to strike another before being taken out in a scene that played out with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver present. It quickly devolved into one of those great “only in New York” moments, with an NYPD officer chanting, “Free Charles Oakley! Free Charles Oakley!” and John “You cannot be serious” McEnroe standing just feet from Oakley as he was removed from the scene.
SBNY Exclusive Part II: Charles Oakley getting pulled out of the Garden pic.twitter.com/WtsVVVitH3
— SportsBlogNewYork (@SportBlogNYC) February 9, 2017
In video posted to Twitter by The Shadow League, Oakley told his side of the story:
“What happened is me and four friends went to the game tonight to watch the Knicks and the Clippers. [We] get there, sit down, start having a good time. Then [inaudible] asked to leave the building and I asked why. You have to leave because somebody ordered you to leave. And I’m like, I’ve been here 48 minutes, I’m a Knicks fan, played here for 10 years. I love the Knicks, I love New York … my heart. I wish them all the luck and success on the basketball court. I wonder why I’m not welcome into the Garden. [inaudible] Some big guys…more and more kept coming at me.”
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