Ex-MSG Employee: Knicks Considered Facial Recognition Technology to ID Charles Oakley

A former Madison Square Garden employee said the Knicks considered using facial recognition technology so they could identify if Charles Oakley was in the luxury suites during his ban from the arena.

The former employee revealed the information on The Athletic's Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks podcast published Tuesday. While the Knicks never implemented the technology, it's evidence of how much the relationship between Oakley and governor James Dolan deteriorated and highlights a paranoia that's been pervasive during Dolan's tenure running the franchise.

Oakley, who played for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998, was ejected from Madison Square Garden in February 2017 after an altercation that still features conflicting stories. The Knicks said Oakley was removed from the arena and arrested after yelling at Dolan and getting into a physical altercation with MSG security. Oakley said he never said anything to Dolan and was only ejected because the Knicks governor disliked the former player's criticism of the franchise.

Police charged Oakley with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one of criminal trespass, but those charges were later dropped. The franchise instituted a lifetime ban of Oakley that was later rescinded after Dolan and Oakley met with Michael Jordan and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Oakley has nevertheless refused to return to MSG and has remained a vocal critic of Dolan, whose thin skin regarding his mismanagement of the franchise has led to other run-ins with fans in recent seasons.

"He just tries to bully everybody and it just don't make sense," Oakley told the Associated Press in 2019.

"... He just bullies people because he has money and power."