The Leon Rose era in New York started off on a high note on Monday night, as the Knicks picked up a hard fought victory over the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. You wouldn't know it though, because the only chatter involving the Knicks today is centered around their bubbling beef with longtime fan Spike Lee.
And as the Knicks' feud with Spike Lee gets uglier by the minute, Reggie Miller is somewhere grinning from ear to ear.
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In response to an article about Spike's beef with his beloved franchise, the Indiana Pacers legend tweeted, "OOOOHHHHH have the MIGHTY have fallen.. This wouldn’t happen at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, maybe finally time to switch your allegiance Spike..."
Miller's tweet came just moments after the Knicks issued a statement describing Lee's claims as "laughable" and accusing him of creating "a false controversy to perpetuate drama."
During an appearance on ESPN's First Take on Tuesday morning, Spike explained how he feels that Knicks owner James Dolan is "harassing" him for no reason, and stated that he won't be attending any more games this season. At this rate, it wouldn't surprise anyone if he stays away from MSG for the foreseeable future.
Check out the incident in question, as well as the recent back-and-forth, in the tweets embedded below.
Knicks Shoot Down Spike Lee’s "Laughable" False Controversy
New York Knicks issues statement on Spike Lee incident: "It's disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama."
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."
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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.
Spike Lee Says He’s Being "Harassed" By Knicks’ James Dolan
Spike Lee says he's done attending Knicks games this season as a result of Monday night's altercation with MSG security.
New York Knicks super fan Spike Lee will not be attending any more Knicks games this year, not just because they suck, but because of the way he was treated on Monday night. In case you missed it, Lee was prevented from using a particular entrance prior to the start of last night's game at Madison Square Garden and he could be heard yelling at security guards, "You wanna arrest me like Charles Oakley?!"
The Knicks quickly issued a statement downplaying the incident, which prompted Lee's appearance on ESPN's First Take on Tuesday morning, where he described how he is being harassed by team owner James Dolan. As a result of the whole ordeal, Spike says he's done with the Knicks this season.
Although Spike seemed furious during today's edition of First Take, he did sit in his familiar courtside seat on Monday night as the Knicks kicked off the Leon Rose era with a 125-123 victory over the Houston Rockets. That said, all of the talk concerning last night's game is focused on Spike Lee and his feud with Dolan, rather than RJ Barrett's career-high 27 points or any of the other positives, which are always few and far between for this franchise.
Check out the rest of Spike Lee's appearance on First Take below.
