New York Knicks: Charles Oakley Arrested During Game

New York Knicks fans have witnessed another new low for the franchise as former player Charles Oakley was arrested in the middle of the team’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

It’s rare to have a conversation about the New York Knicks without mentioning the ongoing trade talk surrounding star forward Carmelo Anthony. His relationship with team President Phil Jackson has been strained due to numerous public comments and meetings.

Through all the drama with that situation the franchise has found a way to become even more catastrophic and publicly disturbing.

Former Knicks forward Charles Oakley was arrested and charged with three counts of assault after an altercation with security near team owner James Dolan.

The 19-year NBA veteran best remembered for his 10-season tenure with the Knicks through the 1990s was grabbed by security being pushed out of the arena.

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The incident took place as Kristaps Porzingis was at the free throw line in the first quarter of New York’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Oakley was a paying attendee at Madison Square Garden because he has had a bad relationship with team management over the years. The Knicks public relations team quickly tweeted out a statement regarding Oakley shortly after the incident.

Oakley was able to post bail from jail later that evening and immediately spoke with the New York Daily News regarding his alleged conflict with Dolan.

"“I was there for four minutes, 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.”"

The actual game between the Knicks and Clippers became the secondary story of the night as New York fell short again 119-115, running its losing streak to three games.

Anthony poured in 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the losing effort, but in many ways won over Knicks’ fans. Chants of “Don’t trade Melo” began to spread around the arena through the different moments of the game.

The Clippers’ combination of Blake Griffin‘s team-high 32 points and DeAndre Jordan‘s 28 points and 15 rebounds were too much for the spiraling Knicks. Jordan was actually 4-of-9 from the free throw line, including two key makes to keep the Clippers in the game late.

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talked to reporters after the game about more than just the big road win. He shared his personal thoughts on the Oakley altercation.

"“That was tough for me to watch, Honest to God, you could see it. I actually took three steps and I swear I was going to run down there, and I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do?’ But I didn’t like that. That’s my guy. That was tough to watch from where I was standing.”"

Rivers and Oakley were teammates for two seasons with the Knicks and still share a close friendship. He would also go on to say:

"“He’s the best teammate in the world, He really is. Honestly, the players could see me. That was a tough thing to watch. I’ve been in the league a long time; I’ve never seen anything like that.”"

The incident was such a social media firestorm and many had opinions on including LeBron James via his Instagram account.

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The troubling season for the Knicks is beginning to look more like the unraveling of a once-proud franchise before the world’s eyes. The toughest part for Knicks’ fans to recognize is that there is still plenty of basketball left to be played after the All-Star break.