Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee is a longtime New York Knicks fan and the most famous face consistently seen courtside at games. But right now he is not exactly in good standing with the team and the team is not in good standing with him. Despite Lee using the employee entrance to get into games for years, on Monday, there was an issue with how he walked into their home game against the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden.
Lee arrived at MSG like he always does, ready to watch his Knicks. As he says he has done for 28 years, he used the employee entrance and was stopped and told he could not enter that way. The Knicks superfan explained what happened when he showed up to watch the game:
"Security guy, this comes from the top, he says, 'Mr. Lee, you have to leave Madison Square Garden,' They wanted me to leave The Garden ... out the 33rd Street employee entrance I came from, walk outside and come back on 31st Street. ... So I said, 'I'm not leaving.'"
Lee pointed out that his ticket had already been scanned, so he didn't want be stuck outside the venue if he exited. He was eventually let into the game, but now that minor issue, one that seemed rather avoidable, has turned into quite the ordeal between Lee and MSG chairman James Dolan.
"(Dolan) said, 'We have to talk,'" I said, 'Talk about what?'" Lee said, explaining their halftime interaction. "I said, 'Mr. Dolan, I've been coming here for 28 years ... why I was not notified by email, text, phone?' He says, 'Now you know.'"
Spike, who says he spends about $300,000 on courtside tickets each year, said he is done coming to MSG this year to cheer on his team.
On Tuesday, the Knicks tweeted out a carousel of photos with a statement on the matter, saying Lee is not a victim here. The team also called the situation "laughable" and included a photo of Lee and Dolan at the game, to prove there is no bad blood (don't ever try to understand the Knicks' tactics.)
The statement has definitely not been well received by fans, who are confused about what the Knicks are trying to accomplish here.
Twitter is of course having a field day with this feud. Here are some of the best reactions:
Reggie Miller, former Indiana Pacer and forever Knicks hater and nemesis, took this opportunity to joke about the whole thing and tell Spike that it might be time for him to pick a new team.
Really though, was an iPhone 3 used to take this photo?
Kendrick Perkins, never one to hold back, said the whole thing was inexcusable and called out Dolan for "mishandling people that represent the culture of NY basketball."
Others chimed in that they have always seen VIP fans use this entrance.
Some people called it comical.
Here is a visual of how Dolan has handled many situations with the Knicks:
And another visual:
We found Dolan's burner account.
The message of "sell the team" was in a lot of tweets about Dolan today, though he should be used to that by now.
Lee has reportedly spent around $10 million on Knicks tickets over the last three decades. With that money, he could have built his own special entrance that reads "Spike Lee Only" above in orange.
The Knicks do not care.
The struggling Knicks would probably lose in this matchup, too.
I highly doubt this is the last that will come from this feud, but Lee seems adamant that you will not catch him in the seats to watch a game again this season.