Already committed to selling the WNBA's New York Liberty, New York Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan said he would listen if bidders wanted to make a run at his NBA and NHL franchises.
Dolan, 63, serves as chairman of Madison Square Garden and told ESPN of recent feelers from suitors for the Knicks' franchise exceeded $5 billion.
'No one has come through with a bona fide offer,' Dolan said.
On Monday afternoon, Dolan clarified his position in a statement to the Daily Mail: 'As we have previously stated, there are no plans to sell the Knicks.'
Dolan, the son of Cablevision founder Charles Dolan, has been chairman of MSG since 1999 but backed away from day-to-day operations of the Knicks in 2014 when he hired president Phil Jackson, who has since left the team.
In February, Forbes valued the Knicks at $3.6 billion, which was the most of any NBA franchise.
'I think people have sent feelers out, but never any that were pursued. Yeah, [the feelers are] around that number [$5 billion], but those things, it's like a stock price. It's only important if you're going to buy or sell,' Dolan said.
James Dolan, 63, serves as chairman of Madison Square Garden and told ESPN of recent feelers from suitors for the Knicks' franchise exceeded $5 billion
Brian Platero holds up a sign during a protest against New York Knicks owner James Dolan before an NBA basketball game between the Knicks and the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden, Wednesday, March 19, 2014 in New York
A New York Knicks fan holds a "Ban James Dolan" sign during the second half of an NBA basketball game between the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, February 10, 2017, at Madison Square Garden. The sign was a reference to Dolan's decision to ban former Knicks legend Charles Oakley after he was arrested during a bizarre incident at the arena that same month
Should that certified offer arrive, Dolan said he owes it to shareholders to vet the opportunity.
'You have a responsibility as the guy who runs the place to deliver on that for them, that's being open and transparent,' Dolan said. 'And so in that position, I could never say that I wouldn't consider selling the Knicks. Now, my family is not in that position, and they are the majority shareholders. They hold the majority of the vote.'
However, as many Knicks fans already know, Dolan is not necessarily looking to sell.
'As a majority owner, I don't want to sell, either,' he said. 'As the head of the public company, you can't say you can't sell, because then you're telling your shareholders that your own personal feelings about your assets are more important than their money. And they won't invest with you if you do that.'
The MSG share price skyrocketed after ESPN published the article, jumping from $260 a share to $276 in a matter of hours.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, rumors of a sale can't buoy their own fortunes.
The team is currently 9-22 and has not reached the playoffs since 2013. In fact, the Knicks have had a dozen head coaches during Dolan's tenure, including those who held the 'interim' title.
Naturally, Dolan has taken his share of criticism from fans, some of whom voiced their displeasure in person.
'In New York, I really can't go out in public without having a security person with me, and I'm hearing stuff and it's like, "Hey, I'm just shopping here,"' Dolan said. 'A lot of times people are nice. "Hi, how are you doing? Are we going to get this guy? Is this going to happen?"
'I try to be nice to them, [but] usually people have negative things to say,' he continued. 'They like to jump out, shout something horrible and run away. That happens all the time. Even at dinner. It's not fun."
One Knicks fan wished for the team to be sold to anyone besides the Mets owners
News that Dolan would consider a sale helped to spike the share price Monday morning
In addition to being criticized heavily by fans, Dolan has publicly quarreled with reporters, team executives, and even former Knicks players.
Perhaps the most polarizing figure in recent Knicks history, coach/president Isiah Thomas ultimately left after he was accused of sexually harassing a team executive, Anucha Browne. She was ultimately awarded $6 million as the victim of the a hostile work environment and another $5.6 million as the victim of Dolan's decision to fire her in retaliation for the lawsuit
In fact, Dolan admitted to ESPN that he keeps dossiers on the reports who cover the Knicks - something he recommends for all large companies.
Things may have hit bottom for Dolan in 2007, when he refused to settle a sexual harassment suit against the company and then-coach Isiah Thomas by former executive Anucha Browne Sanders.
She was ultimately awarded $6 million as the victim of the a hostile work environment and another $5.6 million as the victim of Dolan's decision to fire her in retaliation for the lawsuit.
Dolan also clashed with former head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who left the team in 2001-2002 amidst rumors that the team was trying to hire Phil Jackson to coach the team.
Dolan was asked if he would have considered re-hiring Van Gundy, who O'Connor claimed was interested in returning to the Garden.
'I never heard that. He wanted the job?' said Dolan, who ultimately hired David Fizdale to be the coach before the season started. 'Look, I'll do whatever's necessary to help the team. If [president Steve Mills, general manager Scott Perry] said Jeff's the right guy, fine, but it was really their call. I didn't meet anybody else other than Fiz. They said, "Look, he's our pick, I want you to meet him." So I did. I wasn't involved in the selection process at all.'
Former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy reportedly clashed with Dolan, but some claim he was open to returning to the Garden before the team named David Fizdale head coach
Perhaps more famously, former Knicks star Charles Oakley was ejected from MSG and accused of being an alcoholic by Dolan, who has admittedly gone through rehab himself.
Oakley, who already had an acrimonious relationship with Dolan, was arrested on February 8, 2017 after being physically removed from his seat by arena security during a Knicks game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was later charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault, one misdemeanor count of aggravated harassment, and one misdemeanor count of trespassing.
Television cameras showed Oakley shoving security guards a short distance from the Knicks bench, and MSG would ultimately release witness statements from a dozen employees who encountered Oakley that night, alleging that he was physically and verbally abusive. One Garden employee alleged Oakley shouted, 'All of you suck Dolan's d***!'
Phil Jackson (seated right) signed a five-year, $60 million contract to become president of the Knicks in 2014. The former Knicks player who went on to have a legendary coaching career with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers then made his former point guard, Derek Fisher, the head coach, but the team struggled and eventually Jackson and the Knicks agreed to part ways in 2017
Dolan responded to the ejection by banning Oakley from The Garden indefinitely and in an interview with ESPN radio suggested that Oakley 'may have a problem with alcohol.'
'It is very clear to us that Charles Oakley came to the Garden with an agenda, with a mission in mind,' Dolan said. 'From the moment he stepped into The Garden, from the moment he walked through the doors, he began with this behavior, abusive behavior, disrespectful behavior, stuff you don't want to say on the radio.'
In the article that ESPN published Monday, Dolan doubled down on his claim that Oakley was belligerent.
'He was out of control,' Dolan told ESPN's Ian O'Connor. 'Anybody else who went even half the way that he went would have been ejected from the venue. It just got too bad. He had to be taken out.'
In April of 2017, Oakley described the incident to reporters outside a Manhattan courthouse.
'I bought a ticket,' he said. 'I was sitting in my seat and eight people walk up on you, and the next thing you know, you're dragged out of the Garden. It's so [disrespectful].'
His problems with Dolan and the Knicks began several years earlier, according to Oakley, around the time he publicly criticized the team for signing Amar'e Stoudemire to a five-year, $99.7 million contract in 2010.
The feud was ultimately made public, and while Oakley claimed he tried to make peace, he and Dolan's relationship never seemed to improve.
'Everybody in New York liked me except this one guy. Why is this?' Oakley told the New York Daily News in 2015. 'Everywhere I talk to people — 'Why aren't you working with the Knicks?' I said I try to. They said, 'What, is it Dolan?' I talked to maybe a million people. He's a bad guy.'
Oakley and Dolan were ultimately called to a meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBA legend Michael Jordan, whom Oakley played alongside with the Chicago Bulls before being traded to New York for Bill Cartwright in 1988.
The Knicks went 506-314 during the six-foot-eight Oakley's tenure, reaching the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons and making it to the NBA Finals in 1994.
Oakley was seen yelling and even shoving security officials, but he claims he was calm before he was ejected. Dolan allegedly ordered him ejected because Oakley was critical of the Knicks
In 2015, Dolan responded to an angry email from a fan by telling him to root for the Nets while accusing him of being an alcoholic.
Then 73-year-old Irving Bierman told The Wall Street Journal at the time that Dolan was wrong to accuse him of alcoholism, even if the Knicks owner was, himself, a recovering alcoholic.
'Honestly I had no idea [Dolan] had a drinking problem,' Bierman said. 'I didn't care, and the fact that he's been sober for 21 years, good for him. God bless him…[The] last time I had a drink, I was 18. Now I am 73. I mean, how dare he?'
In his interview with ESPN, Dolan did admit one shortcoming as an owner: He does not know how to make the WNBA's New York Liberty profitable, which is why he's selling the franchise.
'I don't know how to be successful with the Liberty,' he said. 'We've always tried to be helpful with the league, and I believe in the Liberty product. If you go to a Liberty game, they're fun basketball games to go to. But I'll be damned if I know how to get people to go to those games.'
However, Dolan did suggest that part of the problem is the perception that women's basketball is inferior to men's.
'We've pumped tons of marketing dollars, we've done everything we can to make the team successful, and people don't come,' he continued. 'I think it's the time of year (the WNBA plays during the spring and summer) and the perception that the sport is not as good as the NBA.'
David Fizdale is in his first year of coaching the Knicks, but the team is off to a 9-22 start
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/18/knicks-owner-dolan-willing-to-sell-franchise/
Main photo article Already committed to selling the WNBA’s New York Liberty, New York Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan said he would listen if bidders wanted to make a run at his NBA and NHL franchises.
Dolan, 63, serves as chairman of Madison Square Garden and told ESPN of recent feelers from suitors...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/17/17/7531110-6504583-image-a-30_1545067894573.jpg
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