The New York Knicks are often criticized for having one of the worst owners in sports, with James Dolan always at the forefront of some controversy. This time around, Dolan made a point to make an example of an angry fan who recently told the long time New York sports owner to “sell the team.”
As a result of these antics, Dolan promptly banned the fan from Madison Square Garden for life.
Now a few days removed from the incident, Dolan has elected to tell his side of the story. Upon voicing his thoughts on ESPN radio on Tuesday, the Knicks owner quickly noted that he should not have taken the heckling fan's bait.
James Dolan, on ESPN Radio, says of fan incident where he banned a fan: "It appears this gentlemen and his friends planned to do this." Says fan and his friends planned to ambush him.
Then says of his reaction: "I shouldn't have taken the bait." And he was frustrated post-loss— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 12, 2019
In fact, James Dolan believes that he was “ambushed” by this particular fan, who more than likely shares the same opinion as many Knicks fans in 2019.
“Not for nothing, I shouldn’t have taken the bait,” Dolan added, via Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I will say we had just lost, again, and believe it or not I get frustrated with it, too. … I don’t mind. You hear all kinds of stuff, but what is a problem is when someone becomes confrontational. These people clearly were there for a confrontation.”
Of course, the Knicks currently sit in last place in the Eastern Conference standings, thanks to New York's dismal 13-54 record in 2018-19.