What Happened to Charles Oakley?

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN 12h12 hours ago

What the heck is going on with Charles Oakley?

https://twitter.com/NY_KnicksPR/status/829503872628563970

https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/status/829516502399332353

Ian Begley ‏@IanBegley 10h10 hours ago

Charles Oakley has been charged with 3 counts of assault for hitting security guards (misdemeanor) and criminal trespassing, the NYPD says.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Guess it depends on who you believe.  According to Oakley, he had a ticket to the game that was just a couple of rows behind James Dolan (Knicks incompetent owner).  Oakley and Dolan have been feuding for years.  Oakley said Dolan ordered security to remove him from his seat for no reason.  Dolan said Oakley was being abusive to him and others around him.  Apparently Oakley popped a couple of the security people so he was arrested.  What's even more bizarre is that it happened during a time-out and all the players and coaches watched the whole thing go down. 

Just another night in the NBA...

[jbcarol]

You an Oak man?

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Not really.  I remember him as Jordan's enforcer in his early years with the Bulls, and a full-on thug with Riley's Knicks after that.  I'm sure he was a great teammate to have, but I think he was in the league as long as he was for his tough presence more than for his talent.  There's a place in the game for that, but I just never was really a big fan of his.

However, I'm sure Dolan isn't lily white in all this.  He's an idiot and I'm sure he has done a lot to alienate not only Oakley but lots of other ex-Knicks as well. 

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/SedanoESPN/status/829507440433459201

N.Y. Times, Nov. 1, 2016: Oakley has been estranged from the Knicks organization for years, a rift that stems, at least in part, from Oakley's inability to keep some of his more caustic opinions to himself. He has, at different times, criticized the team's front office, coaches and resident stars. In 2010, he advised James to avoid signing with the Knicks in free agency, which hardly endeared him to the organization. He has also called James L. Dolan, the owner, a bunch of bad names.

Former teammates have encouraged Oakley to be more polite in his dealings with the team, but without much success.

"The boss don't like me," Oakley said last week. "I wouldn't mind having a sit-down dinner with Dolan. I wouldn't mind cooking him dinner."

Pause.

"Might put something in it, though!"

Pause.

"I mean, I had at least 15 people try to set up a meeting. He won't meet. I want to sit down to talk to him. I want me and him in a room. And lock the door. Lock that door!"

Another pause.

"I mean, he can have the police outside the door."

Barry Watkins, a spokesman for Madison Square Garden, said: "The Knicks have fabulous relationships with almost all of our alumni. But when it comes to Charles's relationship with the organization, he is his own worst enemy."

On Saturday, the Knicks celebrated the franchise's 70th anniversary by honoring several former players and family members at halftime of their home opener at Madison Square Garden. Oakley was not among them. He cannot understand why he has been exiled. To him, it is beyond comprehension.

"One day," he said, "they gonna need me for something."

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/NY_KnicksPR/status/829791762868731905

[pigture perfect]

It is sad. Loved Oakley's game. Tight End playing power forward. Don't care for his manners though. He was heard cheap shotting Dolan.

[hog.goblin]

Video now shows MSG security threw him to the ground, which is when things escalated.  I'm talking in the seats, not in the exit ramp on the way out.

The Knicks are going to lose this PR battle.

Oak allegedly said some things.
Security asks him to leave. 
In the discussion he gets thrown down.
Things escalate quickly once he gets up.
He's eventually drug out screaming and wrestling.

Knicks say they hope he gets some help. I'm sure he will, in the form of attorneys and player support.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Video now shows MSG security threw him to the ground, which is when things escalated.  I'm talking in the seats, not in the exit ramp on the way out.

The Knicks are going to lose this PR battle.

Yep.  As if the Knicks needed anything else to turn the fans against ownership and management.

Hard to believe an organization with that much money and resources, in the media center of the world, could be so bad for so long.  It's embarrassing.

[hog.goblin]

Yep.  As if the Knicks needed anything else to turn the fans against ownership and management.

Hard to believe an organization with that much money and resources, in the media center of the world, could be so bad for so long.  It's embarrassing.

The crowd was chanting Oakley Oakley as he was hauled out.  What a mess the Knicks' organization and Dolan have become

[Jackrabbit Hog]

The crowd was chanting Oakley Oakley as he was hauled out.  What a mess the Knicks' organization and Dolan have become

Time to bring out one of my all time favorite youtube videos, starring Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph and Isiah Thomas when they were all with the Knicks.

[EastexHawg]

The video I saw the night it happened never showed Oakley being thrown to the floor.  That changes things.  A lot.

No wonder he was so POed when dealing with security.

[hog.goblin]

The video I saw the night it happened never showed Oakley being thrown to the floor.  That changes things.  A lot.

No wonder he was so POed when dealing with security.

Yep, a lot of media had poor reporting and poor headlines.  They should have known there would be a ton of video footage.

But the media gave up on truth along time ago.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Yep, a lot of media had poor reporting and poor headlines.  They should have known there would be a ton of video footage.

But the media gave up on truth along time ago.

Interesting article I read earlier today from an NBA reporter:  https://theundefeated.com/features/charles-oakley-arrest-knicks-disrespect-for-their-history/

I particularly like how he compared the situation to Gladiator:

Maximus, the power forward, returned to the Colosseum on 34th Street in midtown Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday night. But Charles Oakley barely recognized the place anymore.

............

The conflict on Wednesday produced as regretful an image as there has ever been at the Garden. It began when Dolan, the Emperor Commodus of this tale, allegedly decided he did not want a former player who had been openly critical of him and the organization sitting close to him.

...........

I almost want the last Knick gladiator to go back to the Garden once more, face his accuser and echo Russell Crowe's part in the 2000 film:

"My name is Charles Oakley III, the soul of the 1990s Knicks, teammate to a short-changed Hall of Famer, loyal servant to the true fans of Madison Square Garden. And I will have my seat back, in this life or the next."

But, you know what? The Garden in 2017 isn't worth it. Oak needs to stop pining. He deserves better.

[jbcarol]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojVerticalNBA 15h15 hours ago

What Dolan doesn't understand: By trying to win battle w/ Oak, he's lost war. Between Dolan/Jackson, Knicks are toxic free agent destination

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/TheVertical/status/830220963165851649