Charles Oakley Officially Banned From Madison Square Garden For One Year

Former Knicks forward Charles Oakley accepted a dismissal deal that will leave him banned from Madison Square Garden for a period of one year.

What do you do when you're an NBA franchise that hasn't won anything of consequence in decades, has angered the one star player who actively fought to join your team, and almost alienated your best young player over exit meetings? If you're the New York Knicks, the answer to that question is apparently, "Ban one of the most beloved players from your most recent great team."

Charles Oakley, a widely-respected enforcer who suited up for the Knicks during their best recent stretch in the mid 90's, is officially banned from Madison Square Garden for one full year, after accepting a dismissal deal for charges stemming from a dust-up with Knicks owner James Dolan and arena security. It sounds completely crazy and over the top, and it is, but things could have been much worse—Oakley was originally banned for life from the arena, which would have been a crazy end for a player people used to pay to see play there. 

If you haven't yet seen Oakley take on the entire MSG security team, it's a must-watch. Oakley was reportedly minding his own business before Dolan summoned the goons, and things unfolded predictably from there.

Charles Oakley shoves Madison Square Garden security and is escorted out of the building in strange scene pic.twitter.com/lTphvnSzFV

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Knicks made it even worse on themselves with a statement they released, demeaning Oakley and treating him as though he had some sort of serious issue in his life.

"Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner," read the Knicks' statement, inadvertently describing their relationship with their fans at the same time. "He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon."

Though he would have been forgiven for holding all this against the Knicks and dragging out the case as long as possible, Oakley's focus appeared to be moving on from the incident. In a statement given at Manhattan Criminal Court, Oakley cited a need for the city to focus on more important matters as part of his justification for avoiding trial.

"Like I said from day one, I wasn’t wrong," said Oakley. "Why keep wasting time? Let’s try to keep the streets better for kids instead of going to court."

As a result of Oakley taking the deal and accepting a one-year ban from the arena, charges of assault, harassment, and trespassing will be dismissed.

Latest in Sports