But Oakley was hopeful about clearing the air in New Orleans. Instead, Dolan refused Oakley’s handshake and wouldn’t look up, according to the book. “You would have thought I did something to his wife. Sh–, Latrell Sprewell, who played five seasons with the Knicks, cursed at Dolan in front of Dolan’s wife when he returned to face the Knicks back in 2003, and they still became friends,” Oakley wrote. “I didn’t do anything to this man. What did I ever say that was so bad that he would ignore me like that? I wondered. Man, I wanted to hit him in the head.”
More on Charles Oaklay Incident
Charles Oakley said he hasn’t been in touch with the Knicks or the NBA lately and doesn’t know if he will choose to ever step foot back inside Madison Square Garden in the wake of his physical altercation with security last month.
Oakley said he spoke with Silver at a brunch that they both attended during All-Star Game weekend, but they haven’t been in touch since then. “Why call a meeting if you’re not going to stay engaged with what’s going on?” Oakley said. “Hey, I’m going on with my life. I’m going to do what I have to do from here on in.”
Oakley said his top priority is clearing his record of the three counts of misdemeanor assault in the third degree he received as a result of the incident with Madison Square Garden security early in the Feb. 8 Knicks game. His first court appearance is April 11.“ That’s the most important thing right now, getting the assault cases off my record, whatever I can do to make that happen on April the 11th,” Oakley said. “Ain’t nothing has changed since then. I still have the assault cases even though somebody touched me first. I don’t know why I got them. But the paper says I have to go court.”
Like most Knicks fans, Oakley believes that NYK has underperformed this season: "They got talent on the team. They should (be) third or fourth spot (in the East). They have enough talent to be the third or fourth spot. It's up to the guys on the team."
