Isiah Thomas Should Get Fired For Turning N.Y. Knicks Into Reality T.V.

MSNBC writer Michael Ventre reports on the current state of Madison Square Garden:

When I was just a teenager, the name “Madison Square Garden” was magical. I would use just about any excuse to get there. My friends and I would take the train in from New Jersey to Penn Station, and there was always excitement in the air, along with soot and exhaust fumes.

Today Madison Square Garden is but a house of ill repute rife with carnys and freaks. It is a leper colony, only without the cachet. It is a cauldron of human incompetence. It is Norma Desmond from “Sunset Boulevard,” desperately seeking the respect she once enjoyed but instead recoiling from the harsh glare of a modern klieg light.

My Quick Take: Last night and early this morning, I have been surfing through the maze of articles on the New York Knicks. Everybody is speculating on Isiah Thomas’ future after he was found liable in a hi-profile sexual harassment case. His accuser, Anuche Browne Saunders, is leading the fire Isiah charge.

I’m not sure if Thomas can be fired, legally speaking. And I don’t care what lawyers have to say. I’m sick of it.

Ventre makes a great point -one that’s been overlooked. Madison Square Gardens used to stand for something. I grew up and currently live in Vancouver, Canada, the other side of North America. As a child, on the west coast of another country, I knew the Knicks and Rangers were special. They were classic franchises. Hearing the Knicks’ game announcer call out starting line-ups used to send chills up my spine. And I hated Pat Ewing.

Right now, what does the Garden stand for? The chills and sense of something special are gone. The cities daily papers treat the team like reality television. Consider past headlines. Two years ago, Thomas and Larry Brown got in an epic dispute. Last year, the story was Thomas’ extension. This summer, star Stephon Marbury made more appearances on youtube then Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan combined. And now Thomas’ sexual harassment case is taking center stage.

Thomas may deserve to get fired for what he did to Browne Saunders. That’s for the lawyers to determine. But he’s also ruined the luster of the Gardens. And, as a sports fan, I think that’s a pretty good reason for him getting fired, too.

Why should Isiah Thomas get fired? Click here to read and subscribe to Oly Sandor’s NBA Blog.

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