The week-long saga between Charles Oakley and the Knicks has come to an end as his ban from Madison Square Garden has reportedly been lifted, according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Mike Wise of The Undefeated.
The ban, which Knicks owner James Dolan placed on Oakley on Friday, lasted all of five days before it was lifted. In those five days there were verbal jabs thrown at each other by Oakley and Dolan, including baseless accusations from Dolan that Oakley was an alcoholic. On Monday, the two sat down together in a meeting mediated by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Oakley’s friend and former teammate Michael Jordan joined via telephone.
Following that meeting, Silver released a statement noting that he felt there was progress made on both sides and that both were apologetic for their actions.
“Both Mr. Oakley and Mr. Dolan were apologetic about the incident and subsequent comments, and their negative impact on the Knicks organization and the NBA,” Silver said.
Now, it appears as though Dolan is ready to try and move on as he has probably realized he’s fighting a losing battle. Even with his best efforts to trot out Latrell Sprewell and other Knicks legends, the overwhelming majority of support has come in on the side of Oakley from fans and NBA players.
As for Oakley, he’s not quite ready to accept Dolan’s apology.
Charles Oakley told @LeBatardShow he's not ready to accept a Dolan invite to MSG. Good. Oak knows Dolan is the desperado here
— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) February 14, 2017
So the ban might be lifted, but it appears full reconciliation isn’t going to happen just yet between Oakley, Dolan and the Knicks.
