Former Knicks forward Charles Oakley is not letting his MSG scuffle from blow over easily. In February, security had to drag Oakley out of Madison Square Garden after he started a fight caught by television cameras. He was then charged with two misdemeanors of assault, two misdemeanors of harassment and one misdemeanor of trespassing. (He also received a lifetime ban from MSG, but that was lifted soon after.)
Oakley had an opportunity to accept a plea deal on Friday that would have put the incident behind him — and all of us. Instead, he wants a trial. So we’ll be hearing about this until at least August 4, the trial date set by Judge Joanne Watters.
Oakley certainly appeared to be out of line during that February night at MSG when he heckled Knicks owner James Dolan.
Here’s part of what went down, from the New York Post:
A Garden employee, who witnessed the melee, alleged that Oakley had shouted, “All of you suck Dolan’s d–k!”
When security tried to intervene, Oakley allegedly cursed at them, and the altercation quickly escalated into a brawl as the two guards tried to toss him from the stadium.
But regardless, an NBA franchise should not treat a former player — especially one who played a key role on an Eastern Conference championship squad — like this. It’s simply ridiculous that this situation is ongoing and will continue to do so for at least the next three months.
