The Knicks can’t seem to catch a break. Every time they appear to get ahead, they wind up being waylaid. The problem isn’t that they face more hurdles after clearing some. That’s life. The problem is that the hurdles are being set up by their greatest enemies: themselves. And that’s death. For some reason, they flub opportunities to consolidate the strides they’ve made by then taking turns they should know well enough to avoid. After every step forward, they somehow feel compelled to take two steps back — putting them in an even worse situation.
Take, for instance, the last handful of days. Under the circumstances, the Knicks did well to appoint erstwhile agent Leon Rose as president of the franchise at the start of the week. The former head of the powerhouse Creative Artists Agency is highly respected and boasts of a vast network in hoops that figures to aid him as he steers them to success. It didn’t take them long to surrender their advantage, though. Even as the ink on the formal announcement of his arrival had yet to dry, they found themselves needing to do damage control on a disagreement with filmmaker Spike Lee, who, as a longtime season ticket holder, just so happens to be their most visible and vocal fan.
By all accounts, the Knicks could have avoided the mess with Lee. It was most certainly over a minor matter. In attending the Knicks’ home games for the better part of 28 years, he had been going through the Madison Square Garden’s 33rd Street entrance, whose access was otherwise restricted to employees, members of the media, and the disabled. After he did the same last Monday, however, he was asked to exit anew and instead avail of the VIP entrance on 31st Street. The suddenness of the decision, not to mention the hassle of walking two blocks South to use his $3,400 ticket — which, by the way, had already been accepted, and, more importantly, could no longer be re-scanned — smacked to him of harassment. In any case, the validity of enforcing the rule could have been conveyed to him with courtesy befitting a valued patron.
To add injury to insult, the Knicks then saw fit to fight fire with fire. In response to Lee’s pronouncements on ESPN First Take, their public relations department’s official Twitter account argued that his portrayal as a victim “is laughable. It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama.” The posting included a picture of him shaking hands with franchise owner James Dolan, “proof,” they contended, that he agreed to abide by the rules, but “proof” that he disputes.
Why the Knicks wouldn’t seek to settle the controversy quietly is, to be sure, consistent with how they have approached issues playing out under the klieg lights. They were at least as combative when they faced backlash following the forcible ejection of fan favorite Charles Oakley two years ago. The dispute between him and Dolan remains, and he plans to appeal the adverse decision on a suit he filed over it. More recently, they had to do a double take when brand consultant Steve Stoute overreached and hinted at personnel moves that shouldn’t have been up for discussion.
And the list goes on. Dolan himself couldn’t stay quiet late last season, practically bragging about the impending arrival of highly sought-after would-be free agents. All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving instead signed with the crosstown Nets, prompting Knicks brass to apologize — and, to no one’s surprise — effectively take back the apology not long after by declaring that they got the players they wanted all along. They didn’t need to be defensive. In fact, they shouldn’t have been, not least because they had little to stand on; the roster they assembled, filled with redundancy, was uneven at best, and smacked of a decided absence of planning at worst.
If there’s anything the Knicks can be thankful for, it’s their location. They’re in the media capital of world, and, for all their missteps, they remain the most valued name in the National Basketball Association. How much longer, however, is anybody’s guess. When the Rockets, featuring two marquee stars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook, paid a visit last Monday, for instance, the Garden, supposed Mecca of hoops, wasn’t filled to capacity. Hopefully, Rose can restore some semblance of order to their operations. Otherwise, there will be more incidents like that of Lee, and more chances for them to sabotage their own grand designs.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
