The New York Knicks are officially beefing with Spike Lee over a childish dispute about which entrance he is supposed to use when entering Madison Square Garden. Prior to Monday night’s victory over the Houston Rockets, Lee was spotted arguing with MSG security guards and yelling, “You wanna arrest me like Charles Oakley?!”
The Knicks attempted to downplay the incident as a simple miscommunication, but Spike went on ESPN’s First Take this morning and ripped team owner James Dolan for “harassing him.” Mere moments after the segment aired, the Knicks PR account released a statement, labelling Spike’s claims as “laughable.”
Al Bello/Getty Images
The Knicks’ statement reads:
“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance – which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden – is laughable. It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama. He is welcome to come to The Garden anytime the VIP or general entrance; just not through our employee entrance, which is what he and Jim agreed to last night when they shook hands.”
In addition to those comments about the “false controversy,” the Knicks also provided photos of said handshake, and the employee entrance, to really hammer their point home.
Spike, who spends roughly $300,000 annually for his courtside seats, has already said he’s done attending Knicks games this season but he may extend his self-imposed ban into next season and beyond at this rate.
