Patrick Ewing and his Georgetown Hoyas landed a big win today, as they try and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive by making a deep run in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Ewing, one of the greatest players in New York Knicks history, should feel right at home at the Mecca of Basketball.
Instead, he’s apparently had a pretty weird experience there this week. Given that Patrick Ewing is a Knicks legend, and a seven footer presumably in full Georgetown gear, it is hard to imagine anyone questioning him in that building.
After the Hoyas’ 72-71 win over shorthanded Villanova, he revealed that he’s had issues with the building’s security, who has repeatedly asked him for credentials. “I thought this was my house!” he exclaimed, saying that he needed to call James Dolan, the Knicks owner and CEO of Madison Square Garden.
Moments ago, MSG released a statement on the Patrick Ewing issue. “Jim (Dolan) and Patrick have a long-standing relationship; they spoke this afternoon and reaffirmed that. We all know, respect and appreciate what he means to The Garden and New York.”
This isn’t the first time a New York Knicks great from the 1990s—the last extended stretch of success that the franchise had—has dealt with issues at Madison Square Garden. James Dolan was directly involved in a recent incident.
In February 2017, Charles Oakley, a beloved Knicks big man and teammate of Ewing from 1988-98, was arrested and removed from a game at the iconic arena after a verbal altercation with the team’s owner. He was then banned from MSG.
“Whatever is going on with him and Mr. Dolan, like I’ve said before, it’s something that needs to stop,” Ewing said at the time. “He’s one of the best players that I’ve played with. He’s a part of the Knicks’ history. He and Mr. Dolan need to get in a room somewhere and figure that out.”
This is certainly not as glaring a situation as that one, but Dolan and the New York Knicks need all the goodwill they can get, especially when it involves those iconic 1990s teams.