Charles Oakley appeared to lose his temper in a hurry when he was asked to leave Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, and New York Knicks president Phil Jackson reportedly tried to call upon Michael Jordan for assistance.
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Jackson and other Knicks officials felt Oakley was “completely out of control.” When Jackson was unable to reason with Oakley, he supposedly phoned Jordan, who is friends with Oakley and played with him.
“Phil and others felt he was completely out of control. My sources told me he picked up the phone. He called Michael Jordan, because if there’s one person in the world who can get through to Charles Oakley and calm him down, it is Michael Jordan,” Smith said Thursday, per Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk. “But Michael Jordan, from what I’m told, was unable to reach Charles Oakley because, by that time, Charles Oakley had been arrested and removed from the Garden and had his cell phone confiscated at the time. So, he couldn’t be reached.”
It’s unclear when exactly Jackson tried calling Jordan, but it was probably after Oakley was physically removed from his seat at the Garden. The former Knick was reportedly yelling at team owner James Dolan and warned to stop. He ended up getting physical with security staffers. You can see some videos of the incident here.
Oakley claims he did nothing wrong and that he reacted unfavorably because he felt “threatened” by MSG security. We wouldn’t be surprised if he is banned from Knicks games for life.
