James Dolan puts his foot in it again
James Dolan further alienated himself from Knicks’ fans when he replied to an email from a long-time fan expressing his disappointment in Dolan’s leadership telling him, in part, to, “start rooting for the Nets because the Knicks don’t want you.”
When he commented on his response, Dolan said in part:
"I knew I shouldn’t have done that, but I did it anyway because it made me angry — it was a personal, hateful attack"
Having read the email from the fan, Dolan’s characterization that the message was hateful and personal stretches more than a little bit thin to me. While the fan’s letter was very direct, the criticism was limited to Dolan’s actions related to his ownership of the Knicks.
Dolan, on the other hand, went in. And did so in a way that I would describe as being both hateful and personal not to mention hypocritical. He called the fan a “hateful mess”, imply the fan had never accomplished anything positive in his life. And that’s all before expressing the assumption that the fan must be an alcoholic.
Because, of course, the only explanation for someone having the gall to criticize Dolan’s ownership of the Knicks directly to him must, in fact, be in the habit of getting drunk. Dolan’s response reminds me of when years ago I had to scold my cousin for hitting his brother and his reply, “But he started it.” I guess in his response, Dolan answered his own question as to what kind of person would write such a letter.