Spike Lee appeared on ESPN’s First Take to address his dispute with security guards at Madison Square Garden prior to the Knicks’ game against the Rockets on Monday night. Included in his dialogue with co-hosts Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith, Lee claimed, “I’m coming back next year, but I’m done for the season. I’m done.”
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Lee was initially caught on video having an argument with Madison Square Garden security after the Oscar-winning director was told he could not enter the arena through the employees’ entrance and instead would have to use another gate. Lee refused to leave the elevator and eventually went to his normal courtside seat and was seen talking to Knicks’ owner James Dolan at halftime. Lee also said that he was worried about not being able to come back in to the Garden after leaving which is prohibited for all fans.
He told First Take that he’d be entering the arena through the employees’ entrance for 28 years and never asked for special treatment. After his comments, the Knicks Public Relations Twitter account released the following statement:
“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance — which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden — is laughable,” the statement claimed. “It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama. He is welcome to come to The Garden anytime via the VIP or general entrance; just not through our employee entrance, which is what he and Jim agreed to last night when they shook hands.”
Lee denied the Knicks’ initial PR press release that stated Dolan and him were smiling and shaking hands calling it a “spin.” Following the Knicks’ statement, Lee called into the Michael Kay Show on 98.7 ESPN New York and claimed it was a “bald faced lie.” When asked about the picture included in the statement that showed him shaking hands with Dolan, Lee said, “My head was spinning. I never had this happen to me ever by the Garden. So I didn’t even realize that someone was speaking. And I don’t remember shaking his hand.” He then added: “That was a setup. They set that whole thing up. That whole thing was arranged. Look at that picture. It’s from the roof. The clock above the basket is in the shot.”
Former Knicks’ player Charles Oakley, who was arrested and thrown out of MSG after a physical altercation with security guards in 2017, came to Lee’s defense. “Spike means a lot to New York. All the boroughs. He’s a game-changer for black movies, black superstars. He gave a lot of people chances to better themselves. This wasn’t fair,” Oakley told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “You’re cheating the people of New York when you do something like that to a New York native. I know he was born in Georgia but he’s been here long enough.”
Lee feared that leaving MSG after he already had his ticket scanned would not allow him to reenter. Before Lee was allowed to continue to his seat, He famously said, “arrest me like my brother Charles Oakley.”
