Ex Knicks Star Charles Oakley Sues James Dolan for Everything From Libel to ‘False Imprisonment’
Former NBA power forward is also going after MSG for “emotional distress and mental anguish,” among other damages
Tony Maglio | September 12, 2017 @ 9:41 AM
Last Updated: September 12, 2017 @ 9:42 AM
Charles Oakley has some pretty dramatic lawyers — and they’re coming straight for New York Knicks owner James Dolan.
In a particularly flowery legal filing Tuesday in New York’s Southern District, Oakley’s Wigdor LLP officially sued Dolan and Madison Square Garden for the alleged defamation, libel, slander, assault, battery and false imprisonment of its client. The former Knicks power forward is seeking damages for harm to his reputation, as well as emotional distress and mental anguish, among other punitive payout routes.
The beef and soon-to-be legal battle stems from an incident on February 8 of this year, when Oakley was forcibly removed from a Knicks game. He was then banned from the Garden indefinitely, a confusing punishment that has since been lifted.
If you ask Oakley (or his colorful lawyers — seriously, you should read this thing), he did nothing wrong, disruptive or disrespectful to warrant such treatment. The 53-year-old says Dolan has just always had a problem with him — and Oakley has no idea why.
“Dolan constantly disrespected Mr. Oakley, refusing to make eye contact or shake his hand during meetings, denying him the type of fan appreciation nights given to much less popular and successful members of the Knicks, and even making him purchase his own tickets to attend games at the arena he called home for a decade,” the filing reads.
Even after he was tossed from the world’s most famous arena, the embarrassment to Oakley would get worse — and quickly.
“Over the ensuing days Defendants Dolan and MSG launched a coordinated and defamatory public relations campaign against Mr. Oakley, baselessly accusing him of abusing fans and staff, acting inappropriately and struggling with alcoholism,” Oak’s lawyers stated.
Coordinated or not, that definitely happened. And Dolan is a recovering alcoholic himself, which made those public assertions particularly weird.
The aggressive filing goes on to call the Knicks “a laughingstock in the NBA, decried for their incompetence both on and off the court.”
If nothing else, at least that part is pretty accurate.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
8 Times Skip Bayless Haters Stuck It to Departing ESPN Blowhard (Photos)
As Skip Bayless makes his exit from ESPN, he leaves behind a legacy of fan rage and controversy. From his hot-take tweets to his televised morning rants, Bayless has made a living riling up sports fans on topics ranging from his worship of Tim Tebow and the Spurs to his constant needling of LeBron James.
Turns out it's not just fans who are annoyed with him. As he says farewell to the Worldwide Leader, we look back at the times when the athletes and media with whom Bayless shared the sports world bit back.
Several guests who dropped in on"First Take" for an interview ended up going after Bayless. In 2012, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spent a whole segment attacking Bayless' hot takes on the NBA. "You guys like to talk in complete generalities where no one can question you," Cuban said to Bayless' face. "You don’t ever use facts. You don’t ever use substance."
Earlier in 2012, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs called in to the show and quickly got fed up with Bayless' leading questions, eventually demanding he "be an analyst, don’t be a douchebag."
In 2013, Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman, registered his irritation with Bayless' claims that the cornerback's skills weren't in the same league as those of Darrelle Revis. When Bayless tried to bait Sherman into talking about Revis, Sherman called him "ignorant, pompous, and egotistical," and said when Bayless suggests Sherman is nowhere near Revis' level that loses credibility. "No, I don't,I gain it," responded Bayless in sports media's most unmerited mic drop.
Immediately after LeBron James won his third NBA championship, against Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors, Bayless wrote a series of tweets declaring that his favorite team, the Spurs, would have beaten James and his Cavaliers. This was too much for even fellow ESPN pundit Danny Kanell to take, as he responded to Bayless' tweet with a simple message: "Bye, Felicia."
Danny Kanell's ESPN Radio partner Ryen Russillo spoke at length on Bayless' last day about how no one at ESPN was allowed to openly disagree with him on any topic, and that Bayless got mad at other pundits at the network who challenged him. "When you disagree with Skip, it’s handled a different way," Russillo said. "A lot of us are just like, whatever. So that’s why we never bring it up."
Other sports media figures joined in on the Bayless pile-on. NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen tweeted that the best part of LeBron James' NBA Finals victory was that the basketball star "ends [Bayless'] career at ESPN that he built by trolling on him by shutting him the F up."
Also following Lebron James' NBA Finals win, ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth retweeted a hot take from Bayless made in 2014, declaring that the now unemployed Johnny Manziel "will one day be bigger in Cleveland than his buddy LeBron ever was." "Good call!" Schlereth quipped.
The biggest swipe against Bayless came on SportsCenter, during which Scott Van Pelt dedicated his take on the Cavs' NBA Finals win to calling out LeBron critics who "have made your living ripping him." It didn't take much between-the-lines reading to see that Van Pelt was referring to Bayless. "Find a new ax to grind," the anchor said.
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The sports commentator has angered players and fans with his rants, and after LeBron James’ NBA Finals victory his media peers had enough too
As Skip Bayless makes his exit from ESPN, he leaves behind a legacy of fan rage and controversy. From his hot-take tweets to his televised morning rants, Bayless has made a living riling up sports fans on topics ranging from his worship of Tim Tebow and the Spurs to his constant needling of LeBron James.
Turns out it's not just fans who are annoyed with him. As he says farewell to the Worldwide Leader, we look back at the times when the athletes and media with whom Bayless shared the sports world bit back.
