After former Knicks great Charles Oakley was forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden during the Knicks' loss to the Clippers, and subsequently arrested by NYPD, he was taken into custody and charged, according to multiple outlets:
BREAKING: Charles Oakley charged with 3 counts of assault and is being held at @NYPDMTS, police sources said.
— Myles Miller (@MylesMill) February 9, 2017
Charles Oakley has been charged with 3 counts of assault for hitting security guards (misdemeanor) and criminal trespassing, the NYPD says.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 9, 2017
Apparently the former enforcer forward has supporters even in the NYPD, though:
Great scene. An NYPD officer just chanted: "Free Charles Oakley! Free Charles Oakley!"
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) February 9, 2017
Let's take a step back and look at the total insanity of this story.
A former legendary Knicks forward was seated near courtside, and, having had a long-standing beef with the team's owners, became involved in an altercation with an unknown person. Security was called in, Oakley objected to their approach, eventually shoving a security official. The team's own former star was then forcibly removed, handcuffed and charged with trespassing by way of refusing to leave a game of the team he used to play for.
That's just crazy.
Plenty of people came to his defense online, as both #FreeOak and #FreeOakley were popping around the trending topics. And one NBA star also seemed to hold Oakley in respect:
There will be surely more to this story, and we'll keep updating it as the drama unfolds.
