Charles Oakley was a mainstay for the Knicks in the 1990s, playing power forward and averaging 10.4 points and 10 rebounds a game over his 10 seasons in New York
Retired New York Knicks legend Charles Oakley filed a civil suit on Tuesday at the United States Southern District Court of New York in connection with his violent ejection from Madison Square Garden in February.
The lawsuit names The Madison Square Garden Company, MSG Networks, and Knicks owner James Dolan as defendants, and claims Oakley was defamed by being accused of assault and being an alcoholic without any factual evidence. The 53-year-old Oakley is seeking ‘an award of damages to the greatest extent permitted under law,’ the filing reads. The filing also includes accusations of libel, slander, battery, assault, battery, and wrongful imprisonment.
Oakley, who already had an acrimonious relationship with Dolan, was arrested on February 8 after being physically removed from his seat by arena security during a Knicks game against the Los Angeles Clippers. A statement He was later charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault, one misdemeanor count of aggravated harassment, and one misdemeanor count of trespassing.
Oakley’s lawsuit includes accusations of defamation, libel, slander, battery, assault, battery, and wrongful imprisonment and names Knicks owner James Dolan as one defendant
On February 8, Oakley (center) was allegedly heckling New York Knicks owner James Dolan, who was sitting nearby, at a game against the Los Angeles Clippers
When security approached and tried to intervene, Oakley allegedly cursed at them, and the altercation quickly escalated into a melee as the two guards tried to toss him from the stadium (pictured). The former All-Star (center) was removed from the building and handcuffed
Television cameras showed Oakley shoving security guards a short distance from the Knicks bench, and MSG would ultimately release witness statements from a dozen employees who encountered Oakley that night, alleging that he was physically and verbally abusive. One Garden employee alleged Oakley shouted, ‘All of you suck Dolan’s d**k!’
Dolan, who took control of MSG and the Knicks in 1999, responded by banning Oakley from The Garden indefinitely and in an interview with ESPN radio suggested that Oakley ‘may have a problem with alcohol.’
‘It is very clear to us that Charles Oakley came to the Garden with an agenda, with a mission in mind,’ Dolan said. ‘From the moment he stepped into The Garden, from the moment he walked through the doors, he began with this behavior, abusive behavior, disrespectful behavior, stuff you don’t want to say on the radio.’
Dolan’s ban was lifted days later, but Oakley later accepted a one-year ban from The Garden as part of a plea deal. Oakley, who played for the Knicks from 1988 until being traded to Toronto in 1998, will have the charges expunged from his record if he stays out of trouble for six months.
Knicks owner James Dolan accused Charles Oakley of being an alcoholic during an interview on ESPN Radio
‘I bought a ticket, I was sitting in my seat and eight people walk up on you, and the next thing you know, you’re dragged out of the Garden. It’s so [disrespectful],’ he told reporters outside a courthouse in April, according to The New York Post.
His problems with Dolan and the Knicks began several years earlier, according to Oakley, around the time he publicly criticized the team for signing Amar’e Stoudemire to a five-year, $99.7 million contract in 2010.
The feud was ultimately made public, and while Oakley claimed he tried to make peace, he and Dolan’s relationship seems to have been irreparably strained.
“Everybody in New York liked me except this one guy. Why is this?” Oakley told the New York Daily News in 2015. “Everywhere I talk to people — ‘Why aren’t you working with the Knicks?’ I said I try to. They said, ‘What, is it Dolan?’ I talked to maybe a million people. He’s a bad guy.”
The Knicks went 506-314 during the six-foot-eight Oakley’s tenure, reaching the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons and making it to the NBA Finals in 1994.
Dolan’s Knicks, meanwhile, have not reached the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season.