Max Kellerman calls on NBA to consider booting James Dolan from the league

If James Dolan is going to keep banning fans from New York Knicks games, Max Kellerman thinks the league should consider banning Dolan from the NBA.

Despite the Knicks currently enjoying one of their most successful three-year runs in franchise history, Dolan remains one of the least popular owners in New York and in sports. Dolan is still criticized for overseeing the Knicks during one of their longest successful eras in franchise history. And he’s also criticized for being notoriously thin-skinned.

Several years ago, Dolan admitted he relies on facial recognition technology to identify ticket-holding lawyers from firms suing him and to have them removed from MSG-owned venues. Pablo Torre, however, recently found out that Dolan uses facial recognition technology to detect fans who were critical of him on social media. Similarly, if a “sell the team” chant is heard, MSG security is dispatched. And because his hypersensitivity to “sell the team” chants is prompting MSG personnel to stalk fans essentially, Kellerman believes Dolan might have to sell the team.

“The fact that people aren’t more outraged by this,” Kellerman began on a recent episode of Game Over with co-host Rich Paul. “And I understand Donald Sterling lost his team because he was caught on audio saying explicitly racist things, but the point is the precedent was set, and I think it was a good one. ‘We don’t want that in the NBA.’ Adam Silver treated the players like real partners in that case.”

Kellerman noted he never expected Silver and the league to actually boot the longtime Clippers owner out, believing a hefty fine was more likely. But now that the precedent has been set, Kellerman thinks Dolan might have to be the next owner to go.

“He’s so thin-skinned, his ego is so fragile, he can’t take any kind of criticism. In a sports arena! He can’t take criticism from fans?” Kellerman continued. “That is so outrageous. I think before this gets worse, the league, the other owners should consider whether they want Dolan as a partner in this syndicate, whether they want him to own the Knicks.”

Kellerman acknowledged the Sterling situation was different because his racist comments offended labor and made it difficult for players to play for him. That’s not what Dolan is being accused of. But stalking and banning fans from the arena for anything other than illegal activity or security concerns is still egregious.