The Knicks troubles spread from the current roster and front office to one of the franchise's legends as Charles Oakley was pulled from his seat by five security guards and arrested during Wednesday's game.
Oakley, seated directly behind Knicks' owner James Dolan, who he has had an acrimonious relationship with for years, was alleged to have been shouting at Dolan. Garden security rushed to the scene and removed him from his seat during the first quarter against the Clippers. He shoved one of the members of Madison Square Garden security and then was pulled out with Dolan standing just a few feet away.
As Oakley was pulled out by security, the MSG crowd started chanting "Oakley, Oakley, Oakley."
The confrontation was captured on video by ESPN and fans tweeted out video from the stands.
The Knicks issued a statement that said, "Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department. He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon."
When he pulled from the stands and into a tunnel underneath he was handcuffed by the NYPD. He grew angrier, screaming to release him, that he was not going anywhere. Phil Jackson came down and tried to calm him down, but Oakley was heard by a witness screaming, "Dolan did this."
Oakley, who was a mainstay of the Knicks perennial playoff teams for 10 years from 1988 to 1998, was a hard-nosed enforcer on the court. But he has been left out of the nostalgia-tinged celebrations going on for the team's 70th anniversary and has been left out of the organization while other players have been brought back into the fold.
He has said that because he has been open in his opinions about the team _ and Dolan _ he was pushed away.
With all of the chaotic behavior within the organization already, Knicks' coach Jeff Hornacek was asked before the game if the conditions were worse than he expected.
"I kind of _ not was warned, but it was expected that there was going to be something all the time," Hornacek said. "And it's lived up to the billing. It's been something all year."
