New York Knicks great Charles Oakley compared team owner James Dolan to former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the team in 2014 after he was caught on tape making racist comments.
Oakley, who was arrested following an altercation at Madison Square Garden last week and subsequently banned from the arena, made the comparison to SI Now’s Maggie Gray.
After Oakley alluded to Sterling, Gray asked the former Knick whether he considered Dolan to be on the same level as the ex-Clippers owner. Oakley replied that he did.
“This man’s been around for a long time,” Oakley said of Dolan. “I ain’t heard nothing good about him.”
Earlier this week, Oakley’s ban from Madison Square Garden was reportedly lifted. NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Hornets owner Michael Jordan mediated the feud between Dolan and Oakley, but the former Knicks star remains dissatisfied. He told SI Now that the league was trying to make itself look good ahead of All–Star Weekend.
Oakley called Dolan “way out of line” for implying the ex-player was an alcoholic in an interview with the Michael Kay Show.
“He’s trying to peg me as a different person,” Oakley told SI Now. “I’m not that guy.”
In 2014, Clippers owner Donald Sterling was caught on tape making racist comments about African–Americans, saying he didn’t want them at his games. The publication of the tape spurred protests across the league, including from his own team. Silver forced Sterling to sell the team.
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