James Dolan: Why NBA Must Force Him To Sell Knicks
By Eric Snyder
‘A Sad Person’
Not only should the NBA be concerned with the dealings of James Dolan; the other owners should be as well. On one hand, the other owners like having Dolan around so they can take advantage of his idiocy.
On the other, however, him cursing out a fan this week, along with the public abuse of Charles Oakley and past abuse of fans stain every other owner in the NBA. It has been rightfully noted that Dolan has a history of accusing enemies of alcoholism:
"This story has everything we’ve come to associate with the Knicks owner: dissatisfied fans, a connection to the Eagles, but especially that accusation that a James Dolan critic was drunk."
January 2015
A filmmaker’s father and long-time Knicks fan emailed Dolan with well thought out complaints regarding some of his decisions. No doubt, every owner receives countless emails every day from disgruntled fans and season-ticket holders.
Instead of ignoring the email, Dolan responded with his go-to accusation:
"You are a sad person…You most likely have made your family miserable. Alcoholic maybe. I just celebrated my 21 year anniversary of sobriety. You should try it."
February 2017
Knicks legend Charles Oakley has a somewhat violent and very public altercation with Knicks security at Madison Square Garden. Subsequently, the Knicks released a statement saying:
"He was a great Knick and we hope he gets help soon."
When interviewed by Michael Kay, Dolan again speculated an enemy of his was an alcoholic. What should be noted is that while Oakley was criminally charged in the MSG incident, none of his charges are alcohol-related. Yet, Dolan said this to Michael Kay:
"We know he said on TV that he was drinking beforehand. We heard statements from police that he appeared to be impaired. Our staff clearly could see that…"
Again, Dolan failed to offer any real proof of Oakley’s alcohol use and continued the accusations while attempting an apology.
April 2017
A law professor screamed at James Dolan on the street, “Sell the team, Jim!!”, thus speaking for every Knicks fan in the world. Again, in a very public setting Dolan lost control.
Allegedly, Dolan screamed back in the fans face, calling him an “a**hole.” Even worse and in keeping with his ritual, Dolan accused the man of drunkenness:
"Hamersky says Dolan then accused him of being intoxicated, and the owner instructed his security detail to make sure that he not be allowed in the building…Hamersky denies being intoxicated, saying that he’d come to the Garden straight from instructing a Fordham law class…"
In each instance, instead of addressing the issues raised by those opposing him, Dolan attacks the person. Three instances of this magnitude in the last two years reveal a pattern. In this pattern, Dolan is losing control and is no longer fit to be an NBA owner.