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Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport is a big NBA fan, and has appeared on several shows and podcasts to share his thoughts, mostly on his hometown New York Knicks.
Some time ago, there was an incident involving former Knicks player Charles Oakley in which he was thrown out of a game after some sort of alteration with the Knicks owner. He was then banned from Madison Square Garden, a decision many people in and around the NBA derided.
Rapaport came to the defense of Oakley, as many did at the time. As a result, Rapaport decided he would not go to the Garden anymore. In addition, he said he has stopped receiving free tickets to the arena, per his appearance on the Holdat podcast hosted by former players Carlos Boozer and Nate Robinson.
“I'm not welcome—after the Oakley thing, I imposed a ban on the Garden for myself. I was like ‘Yo, I'm not going back to the Garden until Charles Oakley is welcome.' But I've been so outspoken about it…I'm not getting those free tickets right now. They shut me down because I've been so outspoken about it but I'm like, ‘Yo, I'm a fan…you need to put something on the court so that I want to come sit courtside.'”
It's unclear whether Rapaport is simply not accepting free tickets anymore or if the team has notified him in some way that they will not offer him. He claims that his support of Oakley and his desire for him to be welcomed back to the Garden is the reason why he will no longer go.
It's a noble thing that Rapaport is doing for Oakley, and it certainly will get attention because of his celebrity. Hopefully his self-ban of the Garden will inspire some sort of change in the current situation.
