Explainer: Why Charles Oakley Isn't Allowed At Knicks Games
Explainer: Why Charles Oakley Isn't Allowed At Knicks Games
By Edcel Panganiban January 08, 2025 22:06
Franchise legends typically make an appearance on their team's home court at least once per season. However, there are some stars who are not able to do so because of big endorsement commitments and old age. A player who has not been in their former squad's arena in a long time is Charles Oakley. However, he has not seen the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Garden for a different host of reasons.
Charles Oakley is primarily known as Patrick Ewing's partner in the front court during the Knicks' runs in the 1990s. Despite his tenure stretching from 1988 to 1998, he has not been present in the mecca of basketball for nearly a decade now. It was all because of an altercation between him and owner James Dolan.
See, the Knicks security made him leave his seat during a 2017 game. It just so happened that Dolan was seated almost right next to him which caused some suspicion. Allegations of Oakley having a drinking problem have also surfaced which have not helped his case at all. Furthermore, while there have been efforts made by the Knicks organization to get him back, Oakley has no plans of attending a game unless Dolan apologizes for his alleged actions.
The former Knicks forward was firm on his stance in this ongoing beef too: "They've got to apologize. We'll go from there. Can Dolan be man enough to say, 'Mistakes happen.' And he made one. Just be honest. Just be transparent over what you put someone through and how you changed their life. This definitely changed my life. My daughter Googled me, they show them pulling me out of the Garden. That's bad. That's hell for a kid to see that. There's no kind of agreement. There's no kind of, 'Let's make this go away,'" Oakley said. "They're not being transparent about what happened."