Charles Oakley accused Madison Square Garden security officials of racism and called them “henchmen” of Knicks owner James Dolan, according to statements released by the arena on Friday.
The statements, made by officials who came in contact with Oakley at various points on Wednesday night, were released by MSG as part of their ongoing dispute with the former Knick over what led to the fight that got him ejected from the arena.
One security guard said Oakley became agitated just by being looked at.
“You got all those f—ing security people over them looking at me. I don’t know what the f— they’re looking at, but they’re getting on my f—ing nerves,” Oakley allegedly said, via Jonathan Lehman of the New York Post.
The employees paint a picture of a man who was clearly on edge and obsessed with Dolan, with one saying he tried to access an off-limits area of the arena in an attempt to confront the Knicks owner. Another seat order taker said Oakley spent part of the evening muttering about Dolan.
At one point during the scuffle, Oakley allegedly yelled “All of you suck Dolan’s d–k!” at the security guards attempting to apprehend him. While being removed from the arena, he allegedly called the guards Dolan’s “henchmen” and accused them of targeting him because he is black.
There were differing accounts as to whether Oakley was under the influence of alcohol. One guard said he “seemed pretty inebriated,” but a supervisor said he “seemed more of a jerk than drunk.”
All along, the Knicks have been trying to portray Oakley as the bad guy in the incident. Oakley has said he was just trying to watch the game and felt “threatened” by security officials.
