Charles Oakley Blames New York Knicks Owner James Dolan for Losing Rehab Speaking Gig

Charles Oakley claims New York Knicks owner James Dolan cost him a $40,000 payday from a rehab clinic when he accused him of being an alcoholic following last year's infamous incident at Madison Square Garden.

Oakley was involved in an altercation in February 2017 with members of the security team at Madison Square Garden. He was thrown out of the arena and Dolan stated he was banned for life from the Garden.

To add insult to injury — and what led to Oakley's defamation suit against Dolan and MSG — was that Dolan said of Oakley, "I didn’t have the problem he has, but when you’re fighting addiction, it’s not that much different from anger management or other diseases where you can’t control yourself."

Oakley sued last September, but in new documents filed this month and obtained by The Blast, the former Knick claims Dolan's comments made him lose out on $40,000 in appearance fees he was scheduled to make from a rehab in Florida.

"However, as a direct result of Defendants’ statements claiming that Mr. Oakley was an alcoholic," the lawsuit states, "one such rehabilitation clinic, the Rebound Institute, came to the conclusion that it was not appropriate for someone with such a reputation to interact with their patients."

He is seeking unspecified damages and the lawsuit is still ongoing.

Oakley was facing misdemeanor assault charges stemming from the incident, but those were dismissed by a judge earlier this month.

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