Former Knicks great Patrick Ewing complained Thursday that he’s not getting recognized by security at Madison Square Garden ― the arena he called home for 15 seasons in a Hall of Fame career. (Watch his comments below.)
Ewing, now the coach of Georgetown, said Garden staff has repeatedly accosted him and stopped him since he arrived with his team for the Big East Tournament.
Ewing is easy to identify. He stands 7 feet tall. Not to mention that his retired jersey number hangs from the ceiling.
“I thought this was my building,” Ewing said after Georgetown defeated Villanova in the quarterfinals on Thursday. “And I feel terrible that I’m getting stopped, accosted, asking for passes. Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am. And I’m getting stopped. I can’t move around this building. I was like, ‘What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?’”
Ewing said he would have to call Knicks owner James Dolan and remind him that his number does indeed hang from the rafters. The Garden later released a statement that Ewing and Dolan did discuss the matter.
“Jim and Patrick have a long-standing relationship; they spoke this afternoon and reaffirmed that,” the statement read, per the New York Post. “We all know, respect and appreciate what he means to The Garden and New York. Good luck to him and his Hoyas in the Big East semi-finals.”
The circumstances of when and where Ewing was stopped by security were not clear.
More than a year ago, another Garden fixture, filmmaker and Knicks fanatic Spike Lee, complained of disrespectful treatment by the arena’s security. The Oscar winner said he was denied passage at his usual entrance and accused Dolan of harassing him.
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