My 10-year-old grandson who lives in Vermont has not taken off his Jalen Brunson jersey in approximately ten days—wears it to bed, wears it to school, wears it around the house, wears it to bed, rinse, repeat. Well, there's really no rinsing.
For those of you who don't know Jalen Brunson is the point guard leader of the New York Knicks, who are two wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973. With help from his teammates, Brunson has done what I once thought was impossible; turned a New York City sports team into something lovable. Brunson is an undersized warrior who never gives. Awkward looking but effective big man Karl-Anthony Towns speaks lovingly of his late mother and frequently points to the heavens to acknowledge her. Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges remind some of us of the NCAA Champion Villanova teams on which they played with Brunson. The Knicks coach, Mike Brown, is a pleasant fella who gives kind of an Al Roker vibe.
But I just can't bring myself to route for the Knicks, and found myself secretly happy when the San Antonia Spurs stopped the Knicks' express train in game 3 on Monday night.
My problem with the Knicks is their owner. Not that sports owners are generally known for their saintliness, humility, and overall concern for mankind, but James Dolan, whose official title is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Madison Square Garden Sports and Entertainment (he likes when you use the whole title), is a particularly objectionable fellow. James Dolan is an example of a guy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. His late father, Charles, founded Cablevision and a little thing called HBO, so that gave son James a pretty good start.
James now controls the day-to-day operations of not just the Knicks, but the hockey Rangers, the MSG Network, and Radio City Music Hall. Though Dolan may soon be waving his arms in a "hey, look what I did" parade for the Knicks, remember that from 1999—the year that Dolan took over the Knicks—through 2020, they lost more games than any other team in the NBA. But while they were a dysfunctional laughing stock for two decades, rarely did Dolan deign to appear to explain his inaffected stewardship. He hid in his corporate suite. And he installed that same heavy, nobody speaks atmosphere around Madison Square Garden, too. Covering the Knicks home games in those days was a largely joyless experience.
But it went deeper. Dolan mandated that any lawyer engaged in any kind of action against Madison Square Garden would be banned from all Garden events. And further, he installed facial recognition technology to enforce that ban. There are pending lawsuits around that technology.
As a result of his firing an employee who had complained about sexual harassment, Dolan had to pay $3 million of an $11 million lawsuit. Another thing: he fronts a mediocre rock band that has opened for big name acts only because he leverages his connections to get those gigs.
For men like James Dolan, all's well that ends well. "Jim's a great guy and he's having a good year," said President Trump, who watched game 3 from the Dolan suite. I disagree with the "good guy" part of course, but with New Yorkers willing to pay almost anything to watch these beloved Knicks, they will generate more than $140 million just during the Finals. And MSG Sports stock is now at an all-time high. Dolan is a billionaire whose team is making him more billionairy. Yes, good year.
Look, fans love teams because they love the players, the way they play, the team colors, the mascot, whatever. But I can't divorce the Knicks from their owner, and that's why I'll have mixed feelings if they prevail in this series.
One thing is certain, though, when it's all over, it's time for my grandson to wash the Brunson jersey.
