Charles Oakley was arrested for yelling at James Dolan at Madison Square Garden during a New York Knicks game on Wednesday. It was also an ESPN broadcast, which means most of the basketball-watching world saw it unfold live on television while Kristaps Porzingis was at the free throw line.
The internet treated this story as it should: making a bunch of jokes about how terrible the Knicks are. Let’s start with the standard Wikipedia edit. It changed a number of times throughout the night, but I think this one was the best.
Lmfao the Wikipedia page for Charles Oakley just got changed 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Yj02ney7YV
— Shai Gilgreatness-Alexander (@Jhickness9) February 9, 2017
Some smartly pointed out how quickly the Knicks released a statement about the confrontation that said Oakley needed “help” but couldn’t locate its own player a few weeks ago.
https://twitter.com/JRAM_91/status/829509952553127937
Others added a bit of context to the scuffle. There’s a bit of history with Dolan and Oak at this point.
In November, Oakley told me he'd love to cook dinner for Dolan — and maybe put something in his food. https://t.co/QbgwwIjpTj
— Scott Cacciola (@ScottCacciola) February 9, 2017
Most people simply said they wanted no part in telling Oakley what to do when he’s angry.
[Starts first day of security guard job]
Boss over radio: "Hey you need to get Charles Oakley outta here"
Me: pic.twitter.com/2qi1Lk0p9p
— Mourt (@aka_mourt) February 9, 2017
Even in his 50s, Oakley is a fearsome force.
I'll take Charles Oakley at 53 years old in a street fight against any current player in the league. Not even joking.
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) February 9, 2017
LeBron James also apparently falls on the #TeamOak and/or #FreeOak side of things.
In fact, it looks like Phil Jackson had a tough time of getting him to relax. Get that man a drink.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/829508264014577669
It was also a chance to make fun of Jackson and the drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony, who is definitely maybe on the trade block and has dozens of teams willing to acquire him. Or something.
https://twitter.com/jtylerconway/status/829511864405090305
God, the Knicks are such a mess right now that Oakley is probably the fifth biggest problem they have at the moment. He just happens to be the one they could fix with a pair of handcuffs, I guess.
