The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the assault claim filed by Charles Oakley against MSG Networks, the company owned by the Dolan family.
It is worth noting that the dispute between Oakley and the Knicks’ owner stretches back a long way, specifically to 2017 when he was compelled to leave the Knicks’ arena by security personnel on site.
“For more than nine years Oakley’s lawyers have filed lawsuits that they knew to be false. Those suits have been dismissed for the third time,” MSG Networks said in a statement.
“We have pursued legal action against Douglas Wigdor and his law firm to hold them accountable for years of litigation and their flagrant use of the judicial system,” he added.
Oakley was a highly regarded Knicks player in the 1990s. However, after his clash with James Dolan, he has not returned to the arena, and he has also not attended the recent celebrations for the championship title.
“Numerous pieces of evidence have shown that Mr. Oakley had the opportunity to leave Madison Square Garden reasonably, and that instead he resorted to physical violence, and that he was never pushed to the ground,” the Judge noted.
“No national jury could conclude that Oakley feared the risk of improper physical contact, and less that Madison Square Garden intended to provoke him,” he concluded.
