In a sudden and bizarre scene at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, former NBA tough guy Charles Oakley appeared to get into an altercation with a security guard behind the Knicks’ bench during the first quarter. Details are sparse at this point, but ESPN’s Ian Begley is reporting that Oakley was trying to go after Knicks’ owner James Dolan.
Oakley played for the Knicks for several season but has had a fractured relationship with the organization. Oakley was known as a brute and enforcer throughout his NBA career, and as seen in the video, wasn’t about to leave the arena quietly as it took an entire team of security guards to remove him from the stands and get him into the tunnel.
Oakley was subsequently handed a lifetime ban from MSG, which led to LeBron James, J.R. Smith, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade all speaking out in support. T.I. went one step further, urging people to boycott MSG until they do right by Oakley.