Knicks CEO calls angry fan an alcoholic, says root for Nets
The New York Knicks stink. They were so bad this season that, for a little while in the beginning, they were on pace to set the worst record in NBA regular season history. Yet somehow it appears the franchise has further to fall.
The Knicks CEO, James Dolan, whose father built the company that owns the Knicks, has started making headlines for a vicious reply to a distraught fan letter. In it, he accused the angry fan of being an alcoholic - despite apparently having never met the individual - and told the decades-long Knicks' fan to root for the Brooklyn Nets. The story was first reported by the Deadspin website.
Below is the letter the fan, Irving Bierman, apparently sent to Dolan:
"Subject: I have been a knicks fan since 1952"
"At one stage I thought that you did a wonderful thing when you acquired EVERYTHING from your dad. However, since then it has been ALL DOWN HILL. Your working with Isaiah Thomas & everything else regarding the Knicks. Bringing on Phil Jackson was a positive beginning, but lowballing Steve Kerr was a DISGRACE to the knicks. The bottom line is that you merely continued to interfere with the franchise."
"As a knicks fan for in excess of 60 years, I am utterly embarrassed by your dealings with the Knicks. Sell them so their fans can at least look forward to growing them in a positive direction Obviously, money IS NOT THE ONLY THING. You have done a lot of utterly STUPID business things with the franchise. Please NO MORE."
"Respectfully,"
"Irving Bierman"
Dolan's reply below, which ESPN reporter Ian Begley confirmed as authentic, is not very nice.
"Mr Bierman"
"You are a sad person. Why would anybody write such a hateful letter. I am.just guessing but ill bet your life is a mess and you are a hateful mess. What have you done that anyone would consider positive or nice. I am betting nothing. In fact ill bet you are negative force in everyone who comes in contact with you. You most likely have made your family miserable. Alcoholic maybe. I just celebrated my 21 year anniversary of sobriety. You should try it. Maybe it will help you become a person that folks would like to have around. In the mean while start rooting.for the Nets because the Knicks dont want you."
"Respectfully"
"James Dolan"
Bierman told ESPN he has no plans on taking Dolan's advice, and that the letter was simply an expression of years of frustration.
CBSSports.com's Zach Harper wrote that Bierman's frustration is understandable on the part of any Knicks fan.
"They've seen a once proud franchise with a fairly rich tradition go from something they love to root for into something they have to learn to tolerate," Harper wrote. "It's been this way for over a decade with poor spending decisions, and a level of dysfunction that is almost so embarrassing that it's impressive."
Bierman's son said the exchange further extinguished his optimism for the team.
"We thought maybe [Dolan] would admit he made some mistakes," said Aaron Bierman, the son of Irving Bierman, in a phone interview with ESPN. "Instead, he confirmed some of the worst things that fans think of him."