Remember when the Mavericks reportedly threw fans out who were shouting ‘Fire Nico’ chants. This treatment was rightly called out by social media. But what if there is a similar situation happening with the New York Knicks faithful? And surprisingly, it’s not a new decision; this has been going on since 2022. It was ESPN’s report that again brought the spotlight to the case. Speaking about the issue and James Dolan’s personality, a former Knicks star took a measured approach to talk about the situation.
For context, ESPN reports Madison Square Garden now bans over a thousand lawyers from 90 firms using facial recognition. Yes. In the past few years, Dolan has tuned up MSG Entertainment’s so-called “exclusion list” lawyers who are employed at a firm engaged in active litigation against MSG Entertainment’s properties, which also include the Beacon Theater and Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, the Chicago Theatre, and the recently opened Sphere in Las Vegas.
So, is this ban justified? Or is it a power flex from Dolan? On the Road Trippin podcast, Perkins called it ‘petty’ while Channing Frye took the long route.
“Sometimes when you love something so much, you take everything too personal and basketball and owning something is an art and not everyone’s going to understand your art or criticize you. If the players can get booed, the owners can get booed. If the players can get yelled at for getting traded, the owner can get yelled at for getting rid of the team. Certain people can take that, certain people can’t.” This was Frye’s response, and it detailed more of Dolan’s traits rather than his actions.
The 42-year-old is known for his Cavs tenure, where he won the championship. But before that, it was the Knicks who selected Frye as the 8th overall pick in the 2005 draft. Keeping is connection with New York in mind, the former NBA star said, “He (Dolan) chooses not to. So, that’s what I’ll say about that. But playing for the Knicks is a great time.” It’s not just the fans, but Dolan is also famous for banning former stars. Maybe that’s why Frye was not explosive, the opposite of Kendrick Perkins.
Celtics legend unhappy with James Dolan’s approach
MSG is not only tied to Knicks basketball but is considered one of the greatest venues to host any sporting event. The fan support is always the loudest and it is even visible during important events. Just take last year’s ticket prices for last year’s Conference Finals Game. Per @TickPick on X, the get-in price of Timberwolves vs. Thunder was $160. On the other end of the astronomical get-in price for Knicks vs. Pacers was $703. See the difference? Yet, James Dolan continues to exclude fans from the Garden.
Perkins, on the podcast, called him, “it’s the perfect example of being entitled and privileged.” In fact, the former Celtics champion raised a pertinent question of why the fans’ statements are even affecting Dolan in the first place. “How can you have any type of peace if you live your life to please other people or worry about somebody opinions opinion about you? Like it’s going to be there, bro. Like you’re the owner of the New York Knicks…The Knicks relevant is so great for basketball. So it’s like, bro, like at the end of the day, deal with it. Deal with it. It’s part of it.”
Once again, Frye jumped in and explained it’s not straightforward. “He (James Dolan) could say, ‘I don’t want to deal with it. Let me just go on my yacht. I don’t want to deal with it.‘” But it’s not just Frye coming to the rescue. A Spokeswoman for MSG Entertainment told The Post the 1,000-banned-lawyers figure reported by ESPN was inaccurate and called the report biased.
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