In addition to being an Academy-award-winning writer and a renowned director, Spike Lee is famous for being a massive basketball fan and one of the most ardent Knicks supporters. He has been sitting courtside at the iconic Madison Square Garden since 1985 and has stuck with the team through the highs and lows. However, there was a moment when he nearly gave up on the team, but it had nothing to do with their on-court performance.
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In March 2020, security abruptly denied Lee’s entry through the employee gate on 33rd Street, which he had been using for decades. The sudden change in protocol caught the director by surprise and an argument ensued near the entrance. A fan or an employee standing nearby filmed the whole altercation on their phone and posted it on social media and it instantly went viral.
Director Spike Lee denied entry to MSG. Rumors are circulating that MSG CEO James Dolan didn’t want the famed director to enter. #SpikeLee #MSG pic.twitter.com/0gZVaHDXBP
— BroTalk LIVE! (@brotalklive) March 3, 2020
Fellow New York native and Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith invited Lee on ESPN’s First Take to explain what transpired. The famed director explained that security stopped him from using the employee entrance on 33rd Street and blamed maligned Knicks owner James Dolan for it. He said,
“I’m being harassed by James Dolan, and I don’t know why. How is it the wrong entrance if I’ve been using the same entrance for 28 years! It’s Garden spin!”
Lee added that he wasn’t informed over call, text, or email that he was no longer allowed to use the employee entrance. He called out the franchise for their oversight and said they call him repeatedly if he forgets to wire the franchise nearly $300,000 for his season tickets.
The filmmaker claimed that he expected better treatment from the team after shelling out nearly $10 million for tickets in the last three decades. He also revealed that the owner came over to his seat to talk about the incident but he refused to engage. Following Lee’s appearance on First Take, the Knicks released a statement lambasting the director and pinning the blame on him. It read:
“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance — which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden — is laughable”
New York Knicks Statement on Spike Lee pic.twitter.com/19JcvhFKO7
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) March 3, 2020
In an interview with The New York Times, Lee claimed that the team lied in their statement and he had never been told to stop using the employee entrance. The ordeal made him want to quit visiting Madison Square Garden to support the Knicks. However, he walked back on it and remains a fixture at the franchise’s home games.
Spike Lee is a part of NBA lore
Lee never suited up to play basketball in college or as a pro, but his influence on the sport is unique. He shot an iconic commercial with Michael Jordan, where he reprised his role as Mars Blackmon from the movie She’s Gotta Have It, to promote the release of the Air Jordan III
He then spearheaded Nike’s It’s Gotta Be The Shoes campaign ahead of the release of the Air Jordan 5. In 1998, he produced and directed the cultural phenomenon He Got Game starring Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttleworth, a convict, and Hall of Famer Ray Allen as Jesus Shuttleworth, the #1 high school prospect in the country.
He also produced a documentary titled Kobe Doin’ Work in 2009, which gave the world a glimpse of Kobe Bryant’s work ethic and the famed Mamba Mentality. In addition to his contribution off the court, Lee has also been courtside for every massive game at Madison Square Garden since the 1990s, cheering for the Knicks.
His dedication to the franchise and his stellar work as a filmmaker to help the sport grow earned him a place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s James F. Goldstein SuperFan Gallery last week. It’s a well-deserved honor for one of the most passionate and recognizable fans in the NBA.
