Cablevision CEO James Dolan addressed his recent angry email exchange with a New York Knicks fan (see Dolan Lashes Out at Frustrated Fan) at a team charity event today, with The New York Post reporting that Dolan, who also is executive chairman at Madison Square Garden, said he knew he shouldn't have engaged with the fan despite being on the receiving end of what Dolan considered "a personal, hateful attack."
The email exchange ended up being replayed on Deadspin, because Dolan unloaded on a Knick fan for more than five decades, Irving Bierman, for complaining about Dolan's stewardship of the New York Knicks, which last won a National Basketball Championship in 1973. Dolan emailed to Bierman that Bierman sounded sad, possibly an alcoholic and said he had written a hateful note. Both signed off their notes with the term "respectfully."
Per The Post, Dolan said today: “Here’s what happened: I was sent a bad, hateful email. I get emails all the time, like I’m sure you understand. I generally don’t respond to the bad ones. This one, it caught me at the wrong moment and I responded sort of like tit for tat. I knew I shouldn’t have done that, but I did it anyway because it made me angry — it was a personal, hateful attack. Basically it’s over and we got All-Star Weekend. I’d love it if we all just focused on that.’’
Dolan's Madison Square Garden is hosting the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. For a look at how the NBA is approaching the era of virtual-reality style virtual courtside seats, see this story by Mike Reynolds: NBA, Samsung Make All-Star Events a Virtual Reality.
