Once again the New York Knicks finds themselves in the middle of a dispute with the fans.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has stressed to the players that their relationship with the fans is of utmost importance to the league. But what happens when the problem doesn’t involve a fan and a player? What happens when it’s the fans and an owner?
Well, hopefully we find out soon.
On Monday, the Knicks most loyal and recognizable fan, Spike Lee, had a dispute with Madison Square Garden security.
Sounds familiar? In 2017, former Knick, Charles Oakley, was removed from Madison Square Garden after repeatedly yelling at James Dolan. Oakley tried to sue Dolan and MSG but last month a judge dismissed Oakley’s lawsuit against Dolan and Madison Square Garden.
In Lee’s case, the dispute was over an elevator. Yes… an elevator. Lee made an appearance on “First Take” proclaiming that “I’m done for the season. I’m done”. The famous director pays nearly $300,000 a season for a pair of courtside seats. That’s a hefty investment in a team that hasn’t been good in a generation.
In typical Knicks fashion, instead of trying to put the fire out, they took to Twitter and fanned the flames.
New York Knicks Statement on Spike Lee pic.twitter.com/19JcvhFKO7
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) March 3, 2020
This is why Silver needs to get involved and get involved now. The players and NBA Governors are partners in a multi-billion dollar business. Neither side can afford to alienate fans even when there’s not a negative financial impact in play. Lets not be silly, if Lee gave up his tickets today, they would be scooped up tomorrow and Dolan knows that.
The Knicks’ owner using the value of the organization to leverage the fans knowing he has the power to do so. The Knicks are the organization that shows you that a team doesn’t have to win to be financially successfully. Despite being poorly run, the Knicks are estimated to be worth $4.6 billion. They are the NBA version of the NFL team in Washington D.C.
With value comes responsibility. The NBA’s CBA doesn’t allow for poorly run organizations to be successful on the court. Unlike the NFL, there isn’t a national TV welfare check that allow owners to be completely incompetent without having an impact on the league.
To be clear, this isn’t a Donald Sterling situation. Silver has no reason to try and take the team away from Dolan. Plus, to be fair, there isn’t an avenue to do so. But what he can do is get a set of owners to back him and show Dolan that the way he’s running the Knicks is detrimental to his business partners and the league itself.
