Only the Knicks could turn a potentially feel-good story about the Giants in the Super Bowl into an embarrassing confrontation with the media.
I joined a group of several reporters who waited under the stands to speak with Plaxico Burress, R.W. McQuarters, Aaron Ross and Steve Smith during halftime Monday. The four Giants sat in the prime celebrity seats in the front row opposite the Knicks’ bench, but had gone to the VIP area upstairs during intermission.
As the players headed back to their seats, McQuarters stopped to take a couple of questions. By the time the second question got out, a member of the Knicks’ media relations staff whisked him away, saying McQuarters had to be back in his seat – perhaps to be shown on GardenVision.
As we headed back toward the tunnel to continue watching the game, two other reporters and I noticed security guards arguing with a fan in a Yankees cap. The fan evidently was being ejected for unruly behavior and was quite vocal in proclaiming that all he said was, “Get Jeffries off the court.”
A couple of ushers began escorting the man toward the exit, and we reporters followed, hoping to do what reporters do – interview a member of the public.
Several ushers began shouting at us to stop, telling us we weren’t allowed back there. (Even though we were in an area where celebrity interviews are conducted all the time during Knicks games.) Ozzie Jones of Brooklyn – hardly a celebrity – was about 50 yards away but was able to shout his cell phone number to one of the writers despite the best efforts of the Garden gulag to shout over him.
I would estimate that a dozen ushers surrounded the three reporters, including myself, physically blocking our path and berating us for not listening to their orders, not “respecting” them and not letting them do their jobs. I explained that, in truth, it was the other way around. The security staff was keeping us from doing our jobs.
One reporter was physically restrained and had his credential torn off his neck. The apparent leader of the turquoise-clothed brigade took all of our names down, and within a few minutes, a Knicks P.R. executive sought me out in my seat behind the basket to ask what happened.
The security staff evidently felt that we had been impeding the ejection of the fan, which of course wasn’t true. We got nowhere near the fan, thanks to the overzealous security staff. The P.R. executive explained that the fan had left his assigned section, 342, and had taken up residence in section 27, where he became unruly and used obscene language.
If only the Knicks were as persistent in defending Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett as the Garden security staff were in taking care of Ozzie Jones and three newspaper reporters.
I’ve gotten to know a few ushers and security people at the Garden over the past couple of years, and like them. But I don’t envy their jobs. I don’t envy anyone who has to work in this place, under these conditions. It’s sad, really, is the best way I can put it.
Comments (8)
Wow.
Here's my question: Why don't the beat writers appeal to their sports edtors to join together and boycott coverage of the Knicks until reporters are treated with respect and basic freedoms are respected? Even if only two or three papers did it, the message would be loud.
No photos, no stories, no sidebars, just the score and a note in the paper explaining why. They would cave in two days.
The Knicks do this to you guys because you allow them to.
It looks like TV has at least with this game and the Giants. While all the local over the air stations showed highlights but none had any postgame sound. The only non-MSG postgame sound clips were from the cable networks (SNY, NY1)
This isn't the first time I've heard of MSG ushers acting like Mafia hit men, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
Why does MSG and practically everybody behind the operations of the arena have to be such an embarrassment?
"Why don't the beat writers appeal to their sports edtors to join together and boycott coverage of the Knicks until reporters are treated with respect and basic freedoms are respected? Even if only two or three papers did it, the message would be loud."
because that's exactly what "il duce dolan" wants, for the writers to go away.
>One reporter was physically restrained and had
>his credential torn off his neck.
I thought Stern was a coward during the idiotic Larry Brown era when reporters were banned from practice facilities and had to do roadside interviews but this takes the cake.
How is this not taken care by the NBA?
If youre a not bush league, then ALL franchises must treat reporters the same way, give the same access. Whether it is in Phoenix, Portland or NYC, it has to be the same.
I say take that even further: if some broad wants to go and rinse her eyes in the men's locker room, then I say men can scope out the WNBA players. Yes, I realize that might NOT be what guys would want to see but hey, fair is fair!!
It's such a mess over there. I can vouch for the overzealous security staff at the Garden as I've had them annoy me many times over the last 2 years for pointless reasons.
One specific time, I was yelled at to 'hurry up' as I was simply walking in the corridor from the food court to the arena. Great way to treat your customers. Just a few weeks ago, my brother and I got to our seats at the start of the game and there was chocolate or ketchup or something nasty like that splattered all over our 2 seats. We contacted security to let them know the issue and it took talking to over 6 people to have something done about it because we were constantly ignored and I even had one security guard walk away from me in mid-sentence. We were standing, without seats, till mid-2nd quarter.
This is the kind of crap that starts at the top (Dolan) and trickles all the way down to the entire staff. It's the kind of culture Dolan has brought to a once respectable franchise.
You got what you deserved. All you were doing is trying to further embarrass the Knicks by interviewing the Giants at a Knick game. Not the place to be interviewing the Giants. You will have enough time for that in the next two weeks...AT THE PROPER VENUE!!!!!!!!!!