Knicks deny fans chanting ‘Sell the Team’ were kicked out of MSG
The New York Knicks have denied that fans engaging in a “Sell the Team” chant during Wednesday’s game were kicked out of Madison Square Garden. The alleged incident occurred in the waning moments of the Knicks’ 112-104 loss to the Utah Jazz.
Arguably contradicting the Knicks’ claim is how footage surfaced on social media showing a group of fans being led away from their seats by MSG security.
Fans were escorted out of MSG after chanting "sell the team" (via tom_rochh/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/hTz5vJH6Zu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 5, 2020
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic shared a tweet in which the allegations that fans were ejected was corroborated.
A group of at least four young men were escorted from their seats by MSG security for yelling "Sell the team" late in the Knicks loss tonight. Group of security escorted them into elevator out of arena.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 5, 2020
"It's not like we're coming back here anytime soon," one of the men yelled.
Later, a fan who only identified himself as “John from Long Island” to the New York Daily News shared video on Twitter of himself and a handful of fellow Knicks fans interacting with security.
Escorted out of Spikes entrance pic.twitter.com/DcvLH2oLCB
— john wotczak (@woty23) March 5, 2020
The photo of the fans posing near an MSG entrance incidentally makes note of Spike Lee’s recent run-in with arena security and the subsequent, ongoing war of words between the Knicks superfan and the organization.
As relayed by Sopan Deb of The New York Times, the Knicks issued a statement after the game that refuted the allegations: “No fans were ejected for yelling sell the team or escorted from the arena.”
The feud with Lee — not to mention some remarkably inflammatory comments by Knicks legend Charles Oakley — showcase how things have devolved into a full-blown disaster for a perpetually beleaguered organization that finds itself in the throes of another public relations nightmare.
Further, the notion that fans may have been removed from their seats Wednesday night showcases how long-embattled Knicks owner James Dolan presides over one of the most dysfunctional operations in professional sports.
