Charles Oakley Rejects Plea Deal In Knicks Assault Case And Chooses Trial
Photo Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE
Charles Oakley Rejects Plea Deal In Knicks Assault Case And Chooses Trial
On February 8, Charles Oakley was visiting Madison Square Guarden to watch the New York Knicks play against the Los Angeles Clippers. The game was nationally broadcasted, and cameras filmed security approaching Oakley early in the game, leading to a fight breaking out. Oakley then was removed from the building, in handcuffs. He said he did not do anything wrong, and that security surrounded him for no reason to spark the altercation, but shouldn’t have put his hands on anyone.
“I shouldn’t have put my hands on anyone, I was there for four minutes—four minutes—when security came up to me. I was sitting right there by John McEnroe and doing nothing. I only got mad when they told me I couldn’t stay and they start surrounding me.”
Now, Oakley rejected a plea offer, which would have removed the arrest from his record if he didn’t get in trouble during the next six months. But Oakley rather goes to trial than accept any punishment for the incident, because he says he didn’t do anything wrong.
The trial will start August 4, Oakley is charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and criminal trespassing.
In a recent interview, Oakley admitted it’ll take years for him to return to Madison Square Garden. Also, he expressed a day honoring his work with the New York Knicks is not appropriate and he would not be in attendance.
“I’m not happy,” Oakley told The Undefeated. “I told them I’m not happy. They’re tryin’ to sweep this under the rug. I gotta think about this. They tried to tell me, ‘Let’s get some understanding around this.’ I told them in the meeting, ‘My understanding is, it might be three, four, five years before I come to a conclusion how I feel about going back in the Garden. I’m not just going back in the Garden because you want to honor me.’”
“Shoulda been done already, right? Why do we always have to wait for somethin’ bad to happen to get honored? They makin’ it look like I want something out of them. No. My thing is, you slandered my name. A Charles Oakley Day isn’t going to fix that.”
Soooooo Charles Oakley just got into a fight at he Knicks game. pic.twitter.com/klZBD89VI7
— Ian Schafer (@ischafer) February 9, 2017
SBNY Exclusive: Charles Oakley on the ground surrounded by police and Garden security pic.twitter.com/cemhHF4Lu0
— SportsBlogNewYork (@SportBlogNYC) February 9, 2017
