New York Knicks owner James Dolan has reportedly fired Madison Square Garden's security chief, Frank Benedetto, following Wednesday night's incident involving Knicks legend Charles Oakley.
According to a report by DNAInfo, Benedetto, the senior vice president for security at the Madison Square Garden Company, was fired this morning ahead of tonight's matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
Benedetto reportedly became security director for MSG after a career with the U.S. Secret Service, overseeing security for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
The Knicks organization and Charles Oakley have given two vastly different accounts of what transpired during the first quarter of Wednesday's game in which the beloved 53-year old enforcer fought off a number of MSG security guards before finally being escorted out of the arena and arrested.
Oak was ultimately charged with three counts of assault and is due to appear in court sometime next month.
He has received an outpouring of support from both current and former NBA stars in the days since and maintains he did nothing worth warranting an ejection from MSG.
During yesterday's appearance on ESPN Radio, Oakley said;
"I'm (not going to) walk into a place and just start hollering out, 'James Dolan, James Dolan,'" said Oakley, who has been at odds with Dolan for years. "That's embarrassing, man. I did not do none of that. I didn't know (Dolan) was sitting in front of me at first until (the security guards) walked over there."
The team is adamant that Oakley's story is "pure fiction."
