EXCLUSIVE: Charles Oakley – Knicks Owner Wants Lawsuit Against Him & Madison Square Garden Dismissed: He Hit Police Officers & Security!
Charles Oakley – Knicks Owner Wants Lawsuit Against Him Dismissed
theJasmineBRAND exclusively reports, new court docs were filed to dismiss Charles Oakley’s lawsuit over the Madison Square Garden incident where the former New York Knicks star was arrested.
Here’s the backstory: Oakley filed a lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and Knicks owner James Dolan related to his February arrest at the arena. The suit named Dolan, MSG Networks, The Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Sports & Entertainment as defendants. It accused the parties of defamation, libel, slander, assault, battery and false imprisonment.
Oakley was arrested and charged with four misdemeanors after Garden security staff forcibly removed him from his courtside seat at owner James Dolan’s request.
Here’s a clip of the incident.
Here’s the latest: The plaintiffs (which include Dolan, MSG Networks, the Madison Square Garden Company, MSG Sports & Entertainment LLC) responded, with a motion to dismiss Oakley’s lawsuit. They claim in court docs,
This is a meritless lawsuit brought by a famous former Knick who shamed himself while attending a game at Madison Square Garden (“MSG” or the “Garden”) and is now looking to shift the blame for his own misconduct. The harm that Plaintiff Charles Oakley caused to himself and others— including the MSG security guards he assaulted in full view of NYPD officers—is a sad, even heartbreaking fall from grace for this self-described Knicks “legend.” During the Knicks’ nationally- televised game on February 8, 2017, Oakley became disruptive, yelling obscenities and disturbing those around him.
The suit continues,
When MSG security personnel asked him to exit the arena (revoking his license to be there), he refused to comply. Instead, in a shocking incident captured in its entirety on video, Oakley repeatedly struck the MSG security guards who, along with NYPD officers, were attempting to escort him out of the arena, exercising remarkable restraint under the circumstances. As a result, Oakley was immediately arrested, then criminally charged with multiple offenses, and eventually agreed to a plea deal barring him from the Garden for one year.
Plaintiffs insist that
Oakley’s removal and arrest were the inevitable consequence of his own actions that night. He has no one to blame but himself. And he has no viable claim against anyone else. This Court should therefore reject his attempt to shift blame to others through litigation and dismiss his Amended Complaint with prejudice.
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