A spokesperson for Madison Square Garden said Charles Oakley has not been invited back to the arena despite assertions from the former New York Knicks enforcer that he had received an offer to return.
Oakley has not attended a Knicks game since his arrest in 2017 after an altercation with MSG security officials when they told him to leave his seat at the arena near owner James Dolan. Oakley was cleared of misdemeanor assault charges in 2018 and has since attempted to bring assault and battery claims against MSG and Dolan. An amended lawsuit was filed just last month.
Oakley told The Associated Press on Friday that he believed there was an offer to join past Knicks players such as Stephon Marbury and Latrell Sprewell, who have been attending playoff games, at MSG, but that he would not return until an apology was made.
“They’ve got to apologize,” he said. “We’ll go from there. Can [Dolan] be man enough to say, mistakes happen. And he made one.”
However, MSG denies that an invite was made and said in a statement that it expects this newest lawsuit from Oakley to be thrown out.
“This matter should be behind all of us at this point, but because of the ongoing legal maneuverings of Charles Oakley and his lawyers, this case will apparently now have to continue,” MSG said. “Nevertheless, we fully expect this case to be dismissed — for the third time.”
Oakley was a key figure on the Knicks from 1988 to 1998, helping them reach the NBA Finals.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
