With his team armed with legitimate prospects on the court, New York Knicks owner James Dolan is pursuing a different crusade off it.
By ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Dolan “continues to attack the league office and tells teams he will vote no on the league’s proposed 2024-25 operating budget and the election of a new chairman of the board of governors” Tuesday in Manhattan.
As the Knicks return to the spotlight, Dolan raised several issues with the league: The discussion began with the ongoing legal battle with the Toronto Raptors, which has seen the Knicks sue their Atlantic Division rivals for allegedly stealing proprietary information.
Dolan resigned from his positions on several committees of the Board of Governors last November.r, citing “the conclusion that the NBA neither needs nor wants my input.” The Knicks continue to seek third-party arbitration in the Toronto lawsuit rather than oversight of Adam Silver, citing the NBA commissioner’s close friendship with Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the Raptors’ parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
More recently, Dolan was unhappy with the NBA’s revenue sharing, particularly regarding the league’s new media deals, as he believed it would lead to the end of regional sports networks, such as its own MSG Network.
“The inclusion of streaming partners in the proposal (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, Peacock) allows fans in all NBA markets to bypass their RSN to watch certain games in their local market. The proposal provides no local protection for RSNs,” Dolan said this in a memo obtained by Wojnarowski in July. “We are confident that our concerns are shared by many of our counterparts across the league, all of whom will be impacted in similar ways.”
Dolan has reportedly not attended any BOG meetings since his resignation in November, handing that task over to MSG general counsel and proxy Jamaal Lesane.
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