Former Knicks forward Charles Oakley arrested after altercation at Clippers-Knicks game
Former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley exchanges words with a security guard during the first quarter of the Knicks-Clippers game Wednesday.
Former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley was removed from his seat in Madison Square Garden by security personnel and arrested after an altercation during the first quarter of the Clippers’ 119-115 victory over the Knicks on Wednesday night.
Oakley, 53, got into the altercation near Knicks owner James Dolan, pushing several people in the face. He then started pushing security personnel repeatedly before they were able to get him out of the stands.
Knicks President Phil Jackson tried to calm Oakley.
“Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department. He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon,” the Knicks said in a statement.
Police said Oakley was arrested on three counts of third-degree assault.
Clippers Coach Doc Rivers was standing near halfcourt when he noticed Oakley getting involved in a fight and then being taken away.
Rivers and Oakley were teammates for three seasons on the Knicks.
“Yeah, that was sad. That was tough for me to watch,” Rivers said. “You could see it. I actually took three steps. I swear I was going to run down there, and I thought, ‘What the hell am I going to do?’ But I didn’t like that. That’s my guy. So that was tough to watch from where I was standing.
“I’ve been in the league a long time and I’ve never seen anything like that. I’m going to find out what’s going on. That was tough. That was tough to watch. Listen, he was my teammate and he was a great teammate.”
Kristaps Porzingis was at the free-throw line when the incident started. Then all the players from both teams started watching, especially Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who pointed at Oakley while waiting for Porzingis to shoot his free throw.
“I saw [Oakley] before the fight even started,” Blake Griffin said. “I was walking down [the court] and I saw him and he stopped and was talking to Dolan. I didn’t know what it was about.”
Twitter: @BA_Turner
UPDATES:
9:50 p.m.: This article has been updated with details and quotes.
This article was originally published at 7:10 p.m.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
