The New York Knicks are enjoying their best season in years, and by that, I mean the Knicks are sitting at .500 and in playoff contention.
But that newfound success hasn’t exactly changed how Knicks owner James Dolan responds to criticism.
Video hit social media on Tuesday night, showing a fan getting confronted by Madison Square Garden security over his T-shirt, which read, “Ban Dolan.” The video showed two arena personnel asking the fan if he would be willing to cover up the shirt as it violated arena policies. They offered to provide him a free Knicks shirt in order to stay at the game, but once the fan declined, he was escorted out.
Apologies for the delayed reply, was on the train 😩 this is the shirt in question 😕 pic.twitter.com/ubwVzzkvdI
— ロドニー (@djnessnyc) March 24, 2021
So, there are a few ways to look at this situation. The first, it’s pretty lame that the owner of the New York Knicks is still out there ejecting fans who criticize him or display their displeasure. The shirt wasn’t inflammatory — it just said “Ban Dolan.”
The second: Security handled that situation about as well as you could hope for from an owner who kicks people out for “Ban Dolan” shirts. They accurately explained to the fan that it wasn’t a First Amendment issue and that a private arena can enforce a dress code/conduct policy. And they didn’t just throw the fan out — they gave him a chance to cover up the shirt, wished him happy birthday and were willing to provide him a *free* shirt.
That’s not the worst deal.
In a statement to the New York Post, MSG said:
“Our policy is and will continue to be that if you are disrespectful to anyone in our venues, we will ask you to leave.”
But come on, just let him wear the shirt.
