Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, right, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver.Chuck Burton/AP
Just when the situation between the New York Knicks and Charles Oakley seemed to be spiraling into an uglier and uglier debacle, Michael Jordan and Commissioner Adam Silver arrived to seemingly save the day.
The NBA announced late on Monday that Knicks owner James Dolan met with Oakley, Jordan, and Silver. Apparently everybody hugged it out and things are in a better place.
“It is beyond disheartening to see situations involving members of the NBA family like the one that occurred at Madison Square Garden this past week,” Silver said in a statement. “In an effort to find a path forward, New York Knicks owner Jim Dolan, Charles Oakley, and I met today at the league office, along with Michael Jordan, who participated by phone … Both Mr. Oakley and Mr. Dolan were apologetic about the incident and subsequent comments, and their negative impact on the Knicks organization and the NBA.”
Silver went on to explain that Dolan “expressed his hope” that Oakley would return to Madison Square Garden as a guest of Dolan “in the near future.”
On the surface, the end result is not much different than where we before, but at the very least this feels and snounds like it is in stark contrast to the incident itself, the multiple statements released by the Knicks questioning Oakley’s truthfulness and sobriety, and the Knicks parading numerous former players out in front of a national television audience on Sunday.
“I appreciate the efforts of Mr. Dolan, Mr. Oakley and Mr. Jordan to work towards a resolution of this matter,” Silver said.
Hopefully the long national nightmare will be over soon.