As the New York Knicks continue to ride the high of a Game 1 win on the road, matters at home seem to be generating some buzz, too. With issues involving Charles Oakley‘s ban from Madison Square Garden resurfacing, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently released a statement about meeting with Knicks owner James Dolan to lift Oakley’s ban.
Although Silver mentioned that this venture ultimately failed, during a recent appearance on TMZ Sports’ “Open Mike,” Charles Oakley made a bold statement, claiming that Silver never attempted to lift his ban from MSG.
“He’s trying to have a conversation like they just talked yesterday. He’s coming back out with something from 2017, when we met with that guy from New York, Michael, and himself,” Oakley recalled. “He went to the public in 2017 and said, ‘We met, and we came to an agreement that it’s over with.’ And then you look in the paper, and he made another statement about that. But you didn’t solve the problem in 2017, because now, years later, it’s still going on.”
When asked by the show host whether there had been any recent meeting between Charles Oakley, Adam Silver, Michael Jordan, and James Dolan to resolve matters, Oakley replied:
“No. He’s [Silver] lying again. It’s two times in this case that he done lied about it. He is lying about putting a statement out about what happened. He is lying now. He is talking like they talked two days ago. No, they didn’t.”
“I haven’t talked to James. I’ve been to court with James. We tried to settle it, and he said, ‘No.’ So it’s just been a whole thing. They’ve blackballed me from the NBA. In 2019 or 2020, the All-Star in Cleveland… I had called them. They didn’t invite me to nothing.”
Charles Oakley continued by counting how the NBA had ensured he wouldn’t be invited to public events like the All-Star game. In summation, however, he noted:
“My thing is, you asked me to stay in New York three extra days after the incident happened, and I stayed in New York. Spent about $6,000-$7,000 just to be with you. But you come to Cleveland, you can’t give me a keychain? Ticket? It’s embarrassing.”
Charles Oakley noted that managing crises in this manner was common for Adam Silver and the NBA, drawing attention to the Ja Morant scandal a few years ago. Regardless, it was evident that he was extremely disappointed with how matters were handled.
Charles Oakley currently faces a ban from Madison Square Garden after a violent altercation with an arena security guard in 2017. After allegedly verbally abusing the Knicks owner, Oakley was asked to leave the premises. Unfortunately, matters escalated soon after.
With the Knicks bound to return to MSG for Games 3 and 4, apart from the unreal ticket prices, fans are likely to be enraged if Oakley isn’t in the arena.
Having spent 10 years building a legacy with the Knicks marked by toughness and grit, the forward carved out a special place for himself in the hearts of Knicks fans. Hence, when asked whether he wanted some resolution from this situation, Oakley responded:
“In life, you want things to be right. But some things just aren’t right.”
In the nine years following the incident, Charles Oakley revealed that the organization had gone out of its way to ensure that he would face challenges in everything he did. From being ignored by his former teammates to suddenly having a shoot canceled, Oakley has had a tough time.
Despite the fans’ wishes to see the legend in attendance for New York’s historic run, Oakley’s ban is unlikely to be lifted. Regardless, given what a Knicks title would mean to the city, the fans may be more focused on the eventual result.
