Spike Lee Meltdown Caught On Camera: Oscar-Winning Director Tussled With Security During A Knicks Game — Watch
He wasn't kicked out, though!
There is, perhaps, no more of a devoted fan to the New York Knicks than Oscar-winning director Spike Lee. The Black Kkklansman director is such a devoted fan of the team, in fact, that he gets season passes to see them every year and is often photographed watching them from courtside when they play their "home games" at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City.
Unfortunately, the days of Lee watching his beloved team from the courtside may be over. After he got into a tiff with security guards on Monday, March 2, 2020 — and it was all caught on video — the acclaimed director swore that he wouldn't return to "The Garden" for the rest of the season. There's a chance, too, that he may be done with watching the Knicks for good.
But let's back up a bit. What did the Spike Lee meltdown video show? Let's look at what we know.
1. What did the Spike Lee meltdown video show? He got into a tiff with the security guards at Madison Square Garden.
On March 2, 2020, Spike Lee decided to use the part of the Madison Square Garden entrance that's reserved solely for employees and the media. It was there that he was stopped by security guards at Madison Square Garden, and the whole incident was caught on camera. You can check out the video of the incident below.
2. "And if you wanna arrest me like Charles Oakley, go the f**k ahead!"
On the video, Lee can be heard screaming, in part, "if you wanna arrest me like Charles Oakley, go the f**k ahead!"
He was making reference to former NBA player Charles Oakley, who was ejected from a Knicks game back in 2017 after he got into a tiff with Knicks team owner James Dolan. Oakley, who had been "estranged" from the Knicks franchise since making critical comments about Dolan and the team, was subsequently arrested by the NYPD when the tiff got too heated. “Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner,” the Knicks said in a statement at the time. “He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department. He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon.”
3. Knicks team owner James Dolan called Lee to resolve the issue.
Whereas the fight between Oakley and the Knicks wasn't resolved amicably, the fight between Lee and the Knicks had a much happier ending. Knicks owner James Dolan, who was rumored to be upset with Lee because of what happened between him and the security guards, actually reached out to the Do The Right Thing director to resolve the issue peacefully. The issue, it turned out, was that he was to use the VIP entrance for his courtside seats, and not the employee/media entrance.
4. Lee was back at courtside on the same day.
In a statement, the PR department of the New York Knicks made clear that not only was the situation with Lee nothing more than a misunderstanding, but that Lee was actually back in his courtyard seats on that same day. They said that they valued him as a devoted fan, and Lee himself even admitted that over the course of his Knicks-watching career, he gave the team almost $10 million.
5. The Knicks actually won on Monday.
In what can only be described as an "unbelievable coincidence," the New York Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets with a score of 125-123. The credit for that win, for the most part, goes to rookie player RJ Bennett, who seemed blissfully unaware of the so-called "Spike Lee meltdown."
6. But Lee says he's not watching the Knicks at MSG anymore.
A few minutes ago, Spike Lee appeared on ESPN's First Take to give his take on the meltdown incident. Lee said that he's being "harassed" by James Dolan, and he doesn't know why. He also said that he would no longer be watching the Knicks at MSG for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.
You can check out the entire video below.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.