Just when you think New York Knicks owner James Dolan is finally leaving the spotlight, he finds his way back in the headlines for a truly absurd reason.
On Thursday night, The Athletic reported that Knicks assistant coaches received empty championship ring boxes during the season opener at Madison Square Garden. That’s because they weren’t even sized for their own rings.
“Seven league sources, all speaking on condition of anonymity so they could talk freely about a sensitive matter, said the Knicks assistant coaches did not get rings on banner night. Two of those sources told The Athletic that the assistants learned earlier Tuesday that they would not be getting their rings that evening, which came as no surprise because they had not yet been fitted for one and that boxes without their rings were a late addition to the ceremony,” The Athletic’s Joe Vardon wrote. “Team sources described the assistants’ reactions to not getting rings ranging from genuine anger to annoyance.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Madison Square Garden employees received an email about getting their own championship ring. It turned out that was just part of a phishing test that Dolan came up with.
The employees who clicked the fake link were forced to attend a cybersecurity class due to “Dolan’s cybersecurity concerns.”
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
NBA world is disgusted with Dolan’s latest stunt.
As you’d imagine, Dolan’s phishing test didn’t sit well with NBA fans and media members.
“James Dolan won the title and called a crisis PR firm for an emergency strategy meeting to come up with new ways to demonstrate that he is still Evil,” Rodger Sherman commented.
“t’s almost impressive that the Knicks just provided the greatest New York sports memory ever and James Dolan will still be forever reviled,” Jeremy Schneider of NJ.com said.
“Dolan really waited until we reached the promise land to remind us that he’s a bottom 5 human on earth smh,” a Knicks fan wrote.
“Giving them empty ring boxes just for the show? An absolute embarrassment of an ownership group,” Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints replied.
“I understand that you can’t buy all employees a ring but to send a “phishing” email tricking them into thinking there was a chance is disgusting,” another fan declared.
As of this Friday morning, Dolan hasn’t responded to this story from The Athletic. We’d have to imagine he’ll release a statement in the coming days.
