MSG says rumors that James Dolan is trying to sell Knicks are '100% false'
Some fans of the New York Knicks got their hopes up Monday over a rumor that owner James Dolan was again thinking of selling the team. As is the tradition with the Knicks, the hopes of those fans were dashed quickly and harshly. It’s the Knicks way.
The rumor began on a podcast
Bill Simmons of The Ringer released the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Sunday, and hidden inside of it was the rumor that Dolan was actively fielding offers for the team, but not for Madison Square Garden (which Dolan also owns).
“Multiple people told me this, who know things. James Dolan is courting offers for the Knicks. It’s happening. It’s on. It’s go time. He’s courting offers for the Knicks. That’s what I heard at All-Star Weekend from people I trust.”
“He really cares about the buildings and the in-game/in-concert experience. And he wants to put even more money into that. The Knicks are just a pain in the a–, people s— on him for it. He feels if he can just sell the Knicks for some crazy price, then he can put the money into that music/in-game experience stuff that he cares about. So, the Knicks are available.”
Simmons sounds pretty sure here, which makes it easy to imagine Dolan holding court at the Spectrum Center over the weekend, surrounded by people just saying big numbers at him.
Dolan has controlled the team since 1999, and this is far from the first time a rumor has popped up that he’s trying to sell it. The last time the topic came up was barely two months ago, when Dolan said in an ESPN interview that he’d never rule out selling the Knicks. However, he said in the same interview that he and his family don’t want to sell right now despite having received offers of $5 billion
No surprise, MSG denied it
Everyone get out your fail horns and get ready to play some big, juicy, blatty notes aimed at every Knicks fan you know. Because after the rumor had been circulating for a few hours on Monday, Madison Square Garden released a statement that threw cold water on the whole thing.
The MSG statement on Bill Simmons podcast speculation about Dolan selling: “The story is 100% false. There has been nothing. No discussions. No plans to have discussions – nothing.” Okay then.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) February 18, 2019
Sorry, Knicks fans. Maybe the next rumor about Dolan selling the team will be the real one.
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