Throughout New York, there are now FS1 advertisements on subways that call for Knicks owner James Dolan to sell the team. Different reasons have been cited for the franchise to be considered “hopeless,” and it also promotes the idea of not blaming current and former players for the lack of success the team has had the past few seasons.

Dolan was reportedly furious about the ad and elicited fiery comments from him, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.

james dolan
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

Knicks owner Jim Dolan called [FS1 owner] Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday and was “furious” about the new Knicks’ Hopeless ad campaign sponsored by FS1 that is running in New York City subways, an industry source said.

They are “dealing with a s–tstorm internally at Fox,” the source said. “If you post something like this you have to expect Dolan’s wrath.”

Fox Sports responded by making it clear that the campaign was to allow fans to choose sides on who they think is at fault leading to the current state of the Knicks. They also added, via ESPN’s Darren Rovell, that they plan to take down all ads soon.

“Today, FS1 featured statements on a New York City subway car intended to reflect the distinct emotions and opinions of passionate sports fans,” Fox said in a statement. “We regret the tone and are removing the content in its entirety.”

It remains to be seen if this will be enough to pacify James Dolan or not, as the damage has already been done. The Knicks have now passed on the franchise player label to Kristaps Porzingis and drafted Frank Ntilikina, whom they are hopeful could become their cornerstones for the years to come.

Kristaps Porzingis
Seth Wenig/The Associated Press

Should they both play at a high level this season, they can start putting their tough times in the past, and usher in a new era of Knicks basketball, silencing their doubters that they are a hopeless franchise.