New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wasn’t afraid to shout out New York Knicks legend Charles Oakley right in front of team owner James Dolan on Thursday during the former’s passionate speech at the championship parade.
Oaklay is one of the greatest Knicks of all time, but he’s still at fierce odds with Dolan after an ugly 2017 incident that saw Oaklay forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden during an altercation with Dolan and briefly banned from the arena.
While the ban has been lifted, Oakley refuses to attend Knicks games at MSG until the situation is resolved and Dolan apologies for what happened in 2017. Dolan doesn’t seem intent on doing so any time soon.
Mandani choosing to highlight Oakley is fitting for what he means to the franchise; to do so with Dolan sitting right behind him must have been a deliberate decision to honor Oakley despite the two’s dispute. Note that Mamdani and Dolan haven’t exactly been on great terms during this year’s Knicks NBA Finals run either.
Mamdani is a smart guy; he absolutely knew what mentioning Oakley in front of Dolan would mean. Of all the beloved people involved in this Knicks title celebration, Dolan is probably at the bottom of the list.
The team should honor Oakley during such a major moment as an NBA championship; Mamdani made sure the city met the moment… even if the owner seem to want to with Oakley. It’s time for Dolan to grow up and make amends.
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