, Columnist
Knicks' Bumbling Boss Has One Good Idea
James Dolan sees the declining financial future of pro sports franchises. Maybe he'll finally sell his team!
How'd that work out?
Photographer: Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
If you’re a fan of the New York Knicks, or a professional basketball fan generally, you probably have strong feelings about Knicks owner James Dolan, and (probably) not pleasant ones.
It’s not just that in the 18 years since he was put in charge of the team by his father, Cablevision founder Charles Dolan, the team has had only five winning seasons. It’s the way he’s gone about all that losing. He's fired competent executives (Donnie Walsh), and hired incompetent ones (Phil Jackson). He not only supported Isiah Thomas (speaking of incompetent execs) despite a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by one of his own employees, he actually rehired Thomas to run a women’s professional basketball team, the New York Liberty.