The New York Knicks continue to make a mockery of themselves at every level of the game, from head coach hirings, management decisions, to personnel choices, there hasn’t been much positivity to talk about.
However, on Monday, the Knicks overcame a talented Houston Rockets team at The Garden, but it wasn’t before they could mess with their biggest fan, Spike Lee, who invests over $300K per season to feature courtside.
Lee announced he was harassed by Knicks owner James Dolan and security guards for using the wrong entrance.
“I’m coming back next year,” he said. “But I’m done for the season. Done.”
Spike stated he arrived on Monday at the stadium and entered through the employee entrance on West 33rd Street, an entrance he’s used for 28 years. When a security guard approached Lee and asked him to join him, the super-fan refused.
When Lee got out of the elevator, “Security’s waiting for me like I just ran out of Macy’s stealing something,” he said.
Lee was asked to leave the stadium and re-enter on West 31st street. While this doesn’t seem like too big of a deal, as any reasonable person would have abided by the rules, Spike is a different matter altogether.
“I said, ‘I’m not leaving,'” he explained. “And then they said, ‘We want you to leave the Garden.’ I put my hands behind my back, and I said, ‘Arrest me like my brother Charles Oakley.”
Director Spike Lee denied entry to MSG. Rumors are circulating that MSG CEO James Dolan didn’t want the famed director to enter. #SpikeLee #MSG pic.twitter.com/0gZVaHDXBP
— BroTalkLive (@brotalklive) March 3, 2020
Lee said Dolan told him, “We need to talk.”
“I said, ‘Mr. Dolan, I don’t want to talk about nothing. I’ve been coming through this entrance for 28 years,'” Lee said.
“They never said when the thing (policy) changed,” he added. “So why not call me? When my deposit’s due at this astronomical price for Knicks tickets and I’m one day late, my phone is ringing off the hook.”
The New York Knicks seem to be wrong, but their response makes a good point:
Spike Lee has a point, for the amount he’s paying to attend every Knicks game courtside, he should be given the right to enter through the ceiling if he desires.
The Knicks released a statement after Lee’s appearance on ESPN:
“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance — which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden — is laughable. It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama. He is welcome to come to The Garden anytime via the VIP or general entrance; just not through our employee entrance, which is what he and Jim agreed to last night when they shook hands.”