James Dolan Allegedly Banned All Knicks, Rangers, And MSG Employees From Appearing On WFAN Because Maggie Gray Called Him Bad Names On The Radio
NY Post- James Dolan and Madison Square Garden have gone nuclear in their revenge against WFAN and its parent company, Entercom, The Post has learned.
In retaliation for a summer rant by WFAN host Maggie Gray, Dolan’s MSG has ordered all of its businesses across the country to shut down working with Entercom and banned Knicks and Rangers players, as well as MSG broadcasters and personnel, from appearing on the station, according to officials involved in the decision.
In Gray’s summer rant, she called Dolan a “vile piece of trash,” among other things. The Dolan takedown was brought on because Dolan, with his band, JD and the Straight Shot, released a song called, “I Should’ve Known,” perceived to be about producer Harvey Weinstein, his longtime friend, who has been accused of raping and sexually harassing dozens of women. Gray thought it was hypocritical in light of the Garden having been found liable for a hostile work environment in the Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harassment suit in 2007.
Last week, Gray apologized on-air for the rant’s personal nature, but not for its content. It was too little, too late for the Garden. “Entercom aired a hate-filled rant directed towards MSG, its employees and its Executive Chairman in August of this year,” Kim Kerns, an MSG spokesperson, told The Post. “They chose to take no action to remedy this until the start of this season. Only after learning they would not receive special access to players and coaches did they elect to offer an insincere half-hearted apology. We wish them no ill will. However, we decline to carry on a business relationship. We will continue to afford Entercom league-mandated access only.”
I for one am shocked, SHOCKED, that little Jimmy Dolan would hold a grudge against someone and use the power he inherited thanks to his daddy’s hard work to block an entire media entity from getting access to MSG employees. Are you trying to tell me the same guy that held Charles Oakley’s feet to the fire every step of the way following that scuffle a few years ago didn’t like being called out on the radio waves? James Dolan is truly our modern day Commodus from Gladiator with just a lower approval rating.
Only James Dolan could willfully pick a fight with the media based on outrage that occurred from a song he wrote about being friends with Harvey Weinstein in 2018. There’s tone deaf and then there’s tone dumb, deaf, and blind, which is what James Dolan is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Maggie Gray regrets what she said because it hurts her station. But as someone that thinks James Dolan is the ABSOLUTE WORST (*Frank the Tank voice*), I found myself nodding in agreement with a lot of this.
“You are a vile piece of trash,” Gray said about the 63-year-old Dolan on the show she hosts with Chris Carlin and Bart Scott. “You let Isiah Thomas call this woman [Anucha Browne Sanders] the b-word so many times she sued your ass, and she won! And then what did you do? In 2015, you brought Isiah Thomas back into the building to run the Liberty of the WNBA. You are a human embodiment of an online troll. People on Twitter couldn’t even come up with something that stupid …
“I might never get back into The Garden, even with a press pass, after this, and I don’t give a crap. I’d rather not step into that building that’s owned by this hypocrite and this disgusting, disgusting human. Yeah, you should have known. You did know. I forgot for 30 seconds just how embarrassing James Dolan is. Never again. Take your stupid song and everything you stand for, and shove it up your colossal rear end. I’m done with the Knicks.”
You know who else agreed with this line of thinking? Countless media personalities that work for outlets with similar visibility to WFAN. Yet Dolan decided to act like a tough guy to WFAN. Shocker. Even our guy Numbah One took a ricochet shot to his perfectly coifed dome despite being the defender of New York’s worst owners (See: Wilpon, Jeff and Dolan, James).
The Garden is not only done with Gray, but also hosts on the station who have been sympathetic to MSG. Even Mike Francesa, who has always been easy on Dolan and who has had a close relationship with Dolan’s recently retired right-hand man, Barry Watkins, is not permitted to have Garden guests on his show.
And he was NOT happy about it at all.
I’ve already said I refuse to enter Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game until Dolan sells the team. I’m pretty sure he’s no fan of Barstool as is and I’ve convinced myself that he’s the one that demanded Kristaps Porzingis unfollow me on Twitter (just play along with me on that one guys, for my own personal ego).
Regardless, whether or not you think Maggie was wrong for what she said or how Dolan responded, we can all agree that MSG continuing to be run like Stalin Russia is the kind of stuff that could cost the Knicks Kevin Durant and other big time free agents in the future (in addition to them visiting the city on a hot, humid summer day where everything smells like garbage as well as being a dumpster fire of a franchise for almost 20 straight years). Having an owner that is willing to spend is nice. But when said owner is a petty clown shoe, you are pretty much dead where you stand. So even though the Knicks have been exciting despite a 1-2 record and the future may be bright, always remember that an angry ewok is powering everything from behind the scenes.
Fuck this franchise. Fuck The Garden.