Fan shocked at angry response from Knicks owner
NEW YORK -- A Knicks fan who wrote to the team's owner James Dolan, criticizing the direction of the franchise, expressed his shock at Dolan's response in a radio interview on Monday, CBS New York reported.
On WFAN's "Boomer and Carton" show, Irving Bierman, 73, said he had never written to Dolan before and that he was "just giving my feelings."
In an e-mail to Dolan, which first appeared on Deadspin.com, Bierman said that the Knicks should be sold and that Dolan has "done a lot of utterly STUPID business things with the franchise. Please NO MORE," the note said.
In response, Dolan writes back to Bierman, calling him a "hateful mess" and suggesting he was an alcoholic.
Worst of all, Dolan, who is also CEO of Cablevision System Corp., tells Bierman, who says he has been a fan since 1952 that he no longer wants his support.
"In the mean while start rooting.for the (Brooklyn) Nets because the Knicks don't want you," according to the e-mail.
In the radio interview, Bierman says his criticism came from what he felt were poor decisions, particularly after "lowballing" Steve Kerr, who now coaches the Golden State Warriors, after bringing on Phil Jackson as president of the NBA franchise.
"I mean, I'm not a violent person. I'm not looking to -- my biggest question is why? Why do you make these dumb, irrelevant decisions that tear down a franchise," he said. "His response had nothing to do with what I had said to him."
"My initial email to him was very straightforward. I wasn't being antagonistic, I was just saying, 'Hey look, by the way, there are a number of things that you did wrong so just help everybody and sell the team,' " said Bierman.
Dolan is no stranger to controversy. A 2005 New York Magazine article publicly exposed a power struggle between him and his father, Charles for their holdings which include the Knicks, the New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.
In 2007, he was named as a defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit submitted by ex-Knicks executive, Anucha Browne-Sanders, who accused him of firing her after complaints of harassment by former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas.
Regarding the controversial e-mail, NBA Spokesman Mike Bass says Monday that Dolan would not be fined. Commissioner Adam Silver defended Dolan in an interview with the New York Post, calling him a "consummate New Yorker" who "got an unkind email and responded with an unkind email."
After the whole debacle, Bierman hasn't said whether or not he'll take Dolan's suggestion and start supporting the Nets. His only response so far: "I said 'Thank you and good luck.' "