Dolan Continues to Embarrass Himself - New York Sports Nation

Knicks and Madison Square Garden Company owner James Dolan was in the news again this week due to his incredible and laughable thin skin.

According to his website, Max Rose is a U.S. Army veteran who served as an active-duty officer in Afghanistan from 2012-2013 and earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantry Badge.

Rose is Ranger-qualified and continues to serve in the National Guard and is the first post-9/11 combat veteran to represent New York City.

Rose is also the incumbent Congressman serving New York’s 11th Congressional District, representing Staten Island and South Brooklyn.

Rose is also a fan of the New York Knicks.

Rose told TMZ Sports exactly what every Knicks fan thinks.

“They don’t make the playoffs. Nothing’s happening,” Rose said in an angry rant on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. “Every year that they don’t make the playoffs, New York City loses out. We lose a piece of our soul. Sell tomorrow. Sell today. Do it for the good of all of us, brother!”

Rose continued, “Look, the Knicks got to stay. Dolan’s just got to sell. Drives the team into the ground, man! It’s disgraceful!”

Records show that James Dolan does not take criticism of his handling of the Knicks well. He has embarrassed himself often by banning fans from Madison Square Garden because of his thin skin and enormous ego.

He has gotten into public arguments with former players like Charles Oakley and superfan and film director Spike Lee.

He doesn’t seem to understand that the Knicks are already the laughingstock of the league and these bans and back-and-forths make matters worse.

News of Rose’s criticism came to Dolan’s attention.

“Max Rose thinks he can make our team and my ownership his political platform,” Dolan wrote in a personal email to friends, including other NBA owners, last week that was obtained by The New York Post. “I need to let him know that we will not stand for this.”

So, how will James Dolan show the world that he will not let the Knicks be a political platform?

According to The Post, Dolan has made contributions to Nicole Malliotakis, Rose’s Congressional GOP opposition.

“The best way to do this is to help his opponent,” continued Dolan in his email. “He is in a tight race for the US Congress in Staten Island. … Please join me in helping Nicole defeat Max Rose for Congress. It will help send a strong message to all NY politicians that the Knicks will not be their political ticket to reelection. The most you can donate is $2,800.”

Yes, that is correct. Dolan believes the way to show the Knicks are not a political platform is to use the Knicks as a political platform.

Who’s politicizing the Knicks?
The owner who uses criticism as pretense to donate to a political campaign?
Or the politician whose criticism of the owner may be the most agreed upon bipartisan opinion in New York City? https://t.co/RmzZfNb1l2
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 26, 2020

A $50,000 check from MSG Sports was cut last Tuesday to “The Governing Majority Fund,” a PAC run by former Reps. John Faso and Jeff Denham, Dolan confirmed.

The PAC’s mission is to help Republicans take back the House.

“Faso said Dolan got pissed off at Max Rose because he said something about the Knicks being a sh–ty team and then Dolan turned around and wrote a $50,000 check to his PAC,” a source close to Faso told The Post.

Dolan had also donated in 2016 to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Also, the Knicks were the last team in the NBA, a league where the majority of players are black, to release a statement following the senseless and heartless murder of George Floyd.

In a memo to employees of the Madison Square Garden Company, Dolan wrote:

“We know that some of you have asked about whether our company is going to make a public statement. …The coronavirus and civil unrest have taken their toll on our way of life. We at Madison Square Garden stand by our values of respect and peaceful workplace. We always will. As companies in the business of sports and entertainment, however, we are not any more qualified than anyone else to offer our opinion on social matters.”

This angered many of his employees and players. MSG released a statement on June 9, 15 days after Floyd’s murder, saying “Every one of us has a role to play in creating a more just and equal society, where there is no racism, bigotry, violence or hate. We stand with all who act for positive change.”

Never were the words “Black Lives Matter” mentioned.

James Dolan continues to make himself the joke of fans and the media. His lack of leadership and inability to build a winning basketball has made him the joke of New York City. His lack of being able to take criticism is highlighted.

I am sure the Knicks will never win with Dolan in office. He would rather play the kazoo with his band than to bring playoff basketball to Madison Square Garden. That is felonious.