Tag: Spike Lee

Chris Paul disappointed Spike Lee wasn’t at MSG for Thunder vs. Knicks

Although the Thunder left Madison Square Garden with a victory on Friday night, Chris Paul was a tad bit disappointed.

For an entire generation of basketball fans, Spike Lee has been synonymous with the New York Knicks. A fixture in his courtside seat for more than 20 years, this past week, the entire NBA world took notice when Lee had what became a very public feud with the organization.

As the week progressed, the sides have shown no signs of squashing their beef, and with the Thunder making their lone visit to Madison Square Garden on Friday night, Chris Paul let it be known where he stood.

In what appeared to be somewhat of a tribute, Paul wrote “Do The Right Thing” on his sneakers before he went out and turned in a 21-point, 12-assist effort. He led the Thunder to a 126-103 victory in New York City, but still was somewhat disappointed after the contest.

Lee, who vowed to not return to Madison Square Garden for the remainder of the season, wasn’t on hand to witness the performance.

“I done known Spike for a while, man and, shoot, I had talked to Spike a couple days ago actually looking forward to him being here at the game to watch me play, cus I haven’t played here in two years. I haven’t played here — 15 years I’ve been in the league, I might have played here like eight times or something, I usually always miss this game, so I was excited to see Spike and didn’t get to see him.”

The comments from Paul and the timing of the situation are interesting because Paul’s former agent, Leon Rose, was officially named President of the New York Knicks this past week. Shortly thereafter, rumors began swirling that Rose could be inclined to seek a deal for Paul in the offseason.

At the very least, there is some affinity between the two. Paul’s comments and his tribute to Lee, however, may not necessarily endear him to Rose’s bosses at MSG.

With the win, the Thunder improved to 39-24 on the season as they look to sweep their quick three-game Eastern Conference road trip when they visit the Celtics on Sunday.

 

Two days after Oakley was arrested and …

Two days after Oakley was arrested and dragged out of the Garden in February of 2017, Dolan famously invited several former players — including Latrell Sprewell — to attend a game. It was a transparent attempt to show Dolan had support despite the Oakley fiasco. One of the players in attendance, Vin Baker, told the Huffington Post at the time that Dolan “called me sounding really sad asking me if I would come sit with him. Hadn’t spoke to him in 15 years.” Lee, however, was clearly supporting Oakley. He wore a #34 Oakley jersey at his courtside seat and criticized Dolan for calling his friend an alcoholic.

Other celebrities have had their …

Other celebrities have had their privileges revoked by Dolan. A source told the Daily News that another director and longtime Garden presence, Woody Allen, was banned several years ago from Suite 200, which is a VIP club at MSG. Allen’s crime was refusing to do promotions for MSG, according to a source. If Allen still attends Knicks games, he’s no longer being showed on the MSG Network telecast. Actor Ethan Hawke said he stopped receiving free tickets because he criticized the Knicks’ handling of Jeremy Lin on “The Jimmy Fallon Show.” Actor Michael Rapaport also said his comped tickets were stripped because he supported Oakley.

Chris Paul said the suggestions that …

Chris Paul said the suggestions that he’s joining the Knicks are a diversion from the franchise’s latest embarrassing episode. While walking into Madison Square Garden before Friday’s game against New York, the Thunder guard was approached by a league employee and asked about the rumors. “They’re trying to take attention away from that Spike Lee stuff,” Paul responded as the exchange was caught on SNY.

And despite the Knicks’ ineptitude, …

And despite the Knicks’ ineptitude, Jada and others like acclaimed director Spike Lee have remained loyal. Which is why he wasn’t happy with how Lee was treated in his now infamous entrance issue. “I thought that was disgusting. Ever since I can remember watching basketball Spike’s been on the sideline watching the games, rooting for the Knicks. Good seasons. Bad seasons. Do or die. He reps harder than any individual I know. For them to do him like that… I don’t know all of the details but it should be Dolan and then Spike for me with the Garden and the Knicks. I thought the red carpet was laid out for him, but you see it wasn’t.”

We spoke with Childs — who played with …

We spoke with Childs — who played with the Knicks from 1996-2001 — and he’s laying the blame for all of the drama squarely at Dolan’s feet. “Spike Lee has been coming to these game forever,” Childs says. “If he wants to land a helicopter through the roof, let him!” Childs added, “He hasn’t done anything, but support that franchise when they’re at their lowest. So, how do you embarrass that man like that with your flashlight cops? Tell him he can’t use that entrance? And, that only comes from the top.”

Charles Oakley wants the NBA to ‘take a look’ at the Knicks

Oak has spoken.

If there’s anyone who knows what Spike Lee is going through right now, it’s Charles Oakley.

Oakley was removed from Madison Square Garden in handcuffs by security in 2017 after getting into an argument with team owner James Dolan. He was given a lifetime ban from the arena after the altercation and hasn’t been back since.

Fast forward three years later and Spike Lee is getting into arguments with ownership himself and saying he won’t watch games from MSG for the rest of the season. He’s not on the same lifetime ban tip as Oakley is, but it doesn’t feel like he’s too far away.

And, apparently, Oakley has had enough. He’s so fed up with the team that he wants the NBA to step in, he told the Associated Press.

“It’s got to be stopped in some kind of way. The NBA has got to take a look at this. You can’t keep closing your eyes to this. This is like, turn your head if you see someone beat somebody up and you just keep walking. It just keeps happening in New York. People are not going to come here because it’s the same thing over and over and over. They got a new president and all everyone is talking about what happened between Spike Lee and the Garden.”

I mean, he’s not wrong. Nobody even remembered that the Knicks won their game against the Rockets on the day they officially hired Leon Rose. It wasn’t even an afterthought — all people talked about was Spike Lee and the Knicks beef.

It’s hard to see the NBA stepping in and doing anything, really. We’ve only seen that on a few occasions, such as the Donald Sterling incident, and, uh, that ain’t this.

But the Knicks are definitely a mess and will continue to be one until someone cleans them up.

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“Donald Sterling didn’t sell his team …

“Donald Sterling didn’t sell his team either until the NBA came in and did something,” Oakley said. “If you’re a former player and what happened to me when they [dragged] me out of there for no reason, and we got the tape and I didn’t do nothing, it’s like lynching somebody back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. [Dolan] don’t care. I hate to put him in the category of Donald Trump, I think he’s Trump’s nephew. He don’t care.”