James Dolan Threatens to Ban Alcohol at Upcoming Rangers Game amid Liquor Board Feud

Amid his ongoing attempts to ban attorneys whose firms are involved in lawsuits against him from attending events by using facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden, James Dolan is also feuding with the New York State Liquor Authority.

In an interview with Good Day New York, Dolan threatened to halt liquor sales at an upcoming New York Rangers game to send a message to the New York State Liquor Authority.

Dolan's tirade is in response to the agency threatening disciplinary action in response to the facial recognition fiasco.

Per Justin Birnbaum of Forbes, the New York State Liquor Authority issued an advisory letter to Madison Square Garden last month that stated, "groups or individuals cannot be excluded on the basis of criteria that are not directly related to the your duties under your [liquor] license."

The letter noted the state agency could take "disciplinary action" on MSG's liquor license if it finds any violations have occurred.

"We are confident that our policy is in compliance with all applicable laws including the New York State Liquor Authority," a spokesperson for MSG told Birnbaum.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick called Dolan's use of the technology to ban his legal opponents from attending events at MSG "the stupidest thing I've ever read" during a Zoom hearing Nov. 2.

Alexis Majano, a Long Island-based attorney who wasn't allowed to attend a Nov. 5 game between the Knicks and Boston Celtics after getting flagged by the technology, told Jeanette Settembre of the New York Post he worked for a law firm that filed suit on behalf of a fan who fell from a skybox at MSG during a Billy Joel concert.

"He [an MSG employee] handed me a list of 20 to 30 pages of random names and firms. He asked me … 'Do you work for Sahn Ward? Are you an attorney?' I said yes," Majano said. "They explained very briefly: Any firms with litigation against MSG are banned. I was shocked."

Majano, who noted he wasn't directly involved in the lawsuit, said the employee told him he was identified through facial recognition technology.

"I was fairly certain they were right because I didn't show ID—the tickets didn't have my name on them," he said.

Dolan said on Good Day New York he's not concerned fans won't show up if there aren't any liquor sales because "we don't make all our money on alcohol."