Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has offered his two cents in the feud between Charles Oakley and New York Knicks owner James Dolan. It appears as though Gilbert is siding with Oakley.
Oakley not only attended Thursday’s games against the Knicks in Cleveland, but he sat behind the Cavs’ bench … right next to Gilbert.
Charles Oakley is sitting next to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert for Cleveland's game against the Knicks tonight pic.twitter.com/igGimv3Sv2
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 24, 2017
There’s no question about it. That’s a direct shot at the Knicks.
Sure, Oakley is originally from Cleveland. While he never played on the Cavaliers, it wouldn’t be completely out of place for an NBA team to hook a former player up with tickets, especially against one of his old teams. But coming so soon after Oakley’s beef with the Knicks and Dolan makes this a pretty clear jab.
As Rich Eisen of Fox Sports Radio detailed, this is also a sign that Dolan may not be well liked or respected by fellow owners.
Dan Gilbert offered Charles Oakley tickets behind the Cavaliers bench tonight for their game against the Knicks. https://t.co/7FjsIJjpos pic.twitter.com/3RpbUdGz3g
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) February 24, 2017
They may have their differences but generally speaking, owners stick together through controversial issues. Think about all of the labor disputes that we’ve different sports. How often do two owners find themselves on opposite sides of any issue? Not very often. At least not publicly.
That’s not to say that the other owners would all support a different owner in a dispute with a former player without any questions asked. But chances are good that they’d either publicly support him or keep their disagreements private.
The fact that Gilbert went in the exact opposite direction is telling.