The Charles Oakley-James Dolan feud continues to live on, gaining new momentum with the Knicks fan favorite now claiming that the team offered to retire his number shortly after he was ejected from Madison Square Garden in 2017.
Oakley appeared on James Posey’s “The Posecast” and said ownership approached him about retiring his number 34 after he was ejected and arrested during an incident in the Garden stands in February of 2017, when Oakley allegedly heckled Dolan before being dragged out by security. Oakley was banned from MSG after the incident, and the majority of the fanbase sided with Oakley, beloved in New York for his toughness during the Knicks teams of the early 1990s.
The Knicks as a franchise have long been rigid with their retired numbers, with Patrick Ewing and Dick McGuire being the only ones not to win a championship to have their number hanging in the rafters, but according to Oakley, the franchise was ready to add him to that exclusive list.
Oakley surprisingly refused the offer.
“They came to me and said they were going to retire my jersey, do this and do that,” Oakley said. “And I’m like, ‘Nah, you can’t buy me that easy. If you retire the jersey, that benefits you, that ain’t benefitting me.'”
Oakley claimed he turned the offer down because he felt it was a plot to sell more tickets, which he didn’t feel he benefited from, and didn’t want the team making more money off his name after he was kicked out of the arena where he became a New York legend.
“If you want to put it outside with the flag, and people don’t have to pay to come in and see it … let them drive past and see it,’’ Oakley said. “Let it be a tourist spot.”
There doesn’t appear to be any plans for Oakley’s number to be retired inside or outside MSG, but many have clamored for it, including former head coach Jeff Van Gundy. But Oakley clearly still harbors resentment toward Dolan and the franchise.
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