Life in Knicks Hell
Basketball inferno: 4-9 team, Thomas’ harassment, hostile Dolans; reporters claw at exits: News’ Isola exiled, Post’s Vaccaro: ‘A gulag’; Times’ Beck: ‘Beat makes me miserable’; Star-Ledger halts coverage
On Nov. 24, a little before noon, 16 bleary-eyed reporters shuffled into a tiny interview room a few feet away from the Madison Square Garden basketball floor. It had ivory cinder-block walls and dim fluorescent lighting that didn’t recall a media workspace so much as it did a detention cell.
They were attempting to interview the Knicks’ religiously evasive head coach Isiah Thomas, who informed them, after a contentious exchange, that they indeed had the right to criticize the team.
Afterward, the reporters complained about what they viewed as a patronizing lecture. One called him a “psycho.” It was, in all respects, a typically bitter start to a day in the life of a New York Knicks beat reporter.
Not that it was always like this. After all, covering the Knicks was once one of the most coveted beats in the country.
“It’s Madison Square Garden, it’s New York City, it should be one of the top beats in New York,” said Newsday beat reporter Alan Hahn.
Instead: “It’s maddening. What it should be and what it is—it’s a shame.”
Frank Isola, the 12-year Knicks-beat veteran for the Daily News, said, “It used to be fun here. Now, there are some nights when you’re trying to talk your boss out of sending you here and maybe lie and tell him you’re sick or something.”
“I’ll admit,” said Howard Beck, the New York Times Knicks reporter, “that the beat makes me miserable.”
>> Time to Raze the Knicks and Start Again By Howard Megdal
The job, under the weight of the regime of Garden chairman James Dolan, has become the most demoralizing reporting gig in the city.
It doesn’t help that the Knicks are such a lousy team: Their 2-9 start, before a recent two-game winning streak, was tied for the worst in franchise history; they haven’t had a winning season in six years; their star player, Stephon Marbury, feuded openly with Mr. Thomas; the team’s off-season was occupied by a sexual harassment lawsuit that led to, among other embarrassing episodes, Mr. Thomas offering his opinion on the difference between a white person and a black person using the word “bitch.”
But that only skims the surface. What really separates the complaints of Knicks writers from those of every other browbeaten city reporter—and reporters are definitely a whiny lot—are their unironic, and apparently accurate, tales of systematic repression.
“It’s the gulag,” said Mike Vaccaro, a columnist for the New York Post.
“We all know what it’s like to cover a normal team,” said Mr. Beck, who previously reported on the Lakers for the L.A. Daily News. “Covering the Knicks is so much worse.”
“Some of the things they practice here are completely against what you’d expect a normal team to do,” said Mr. Hahn, a second-year reporter on the beat who said that he now misses his old job as a hockey reporter covering the provincial New York Islanders. “They come up with things all the time. There’s zero access to players. They would rather you don’t even write.”
The stories from the reporters are endless: layers of institutional paranoia; public relations officials who openly eavesdrop on private conversations with executives and players; the threat—and implementation—of cutting off reporters who are perceived to be critical of the team.
“Everyone is so worried about upsetting Jim Dolan, or getting fired, and as a result people aren’t themselves,” said Mr. Beck. “If you transplanted the same individuals and put them in another city, then they’d be far more interesting. They’d be themselves.”
To their credit, the Knicks’ press officials don’t deny Mr. Dolan’s unusually hands-on role in managing their downtrodden core of reporters.
“I think it’s fair to say that Jim [Dolan] is aware of, and a part of, the shaping of the media policy,” said Barry Watkins, the senior vice president of communications for the Garden.
The policy was instituted in the summer of 2001. (Coincidentally, one supposes, the last year the Knicks had a winning record.)
Two years earlier, Mr. Dolan’s first year as chairman of the Garden, the Knicks made it to the N.B.A. Finals. But partly because of squabbling between head coach Jeff Van Gundy and general manager Ernie Grunfeld that made its way into the press, Mr. Dolan later described that season to reporters as “one of the worst years.”
“I BELIEVE OUR policies work for everybody across the board,” said Mr. Watkins. “If some particular people don’t like or don’t feel good about it, I can’t control what they think.”
Garden policy has meant that before and after every game, there is a media relations official—a minder, really—with a BlackBerry in hand who furiously types away while listening to reporters’ conversations. The notes that the official takes are then e-mailed up the chain of command. Next Page >
It's a freaking basketball team, for chrissakes.
Its a basketball team. Yep. That's what it is. A cog in a multi-billion dollar branch of the the multi-trillion dollar entertainment-industrial complex. So what Frank Isola does for a living matters. You'd have thought that this kind of treatment of the media might have ended with Nixon's enemies list. Seems like the Dolans have decided to go Tricky Dick & Co. one better. Go, Frank, Go!!!
Looks like the vast pro-athlete, anti-media conspiracy that threatens life as we know it has spread from Chicago to New York.
Here's hoping this oppression ends soon; otherwise we'll face the Dark Ages if these "scribes" can't do their jobs! Oh, the humanity!
If you had a business, and someone -- or dozens of someones -- came by everyday to your offices, or warehouse, to try to find mostly negative stuff, along with some positive stuff, would you let them run around unattended? Or would you want to keep an eye on them?
Remember, this ain't national security we're talking about where freedom of the press is paramount. This is a basketball team. Big whoop.
Go Frank!
“I leave the Garden sometimes and think, ‘Should I look under my car before I turn the ignition?’” ... Classic.
Good thing for the Knicks I'm not on their beat. As a beat writer at another paper, no way I'd put up with that. I'd harass THEM ummercifully, hire a detective to follow THEIR every move, just to see how they like it.
Good luck suppressing the first amendment Knickies.
So these miserable louts would rather be covering, what, the war in Iraq? The cops beat? They have it pretty damn cushy with their courtside seats and expense account travel. Shut up already! There are plenty of minority and female reporters who would be glad to take the places of these cranky white men.
Maybe they just can't stand the fact that there is actual reporting required in their jobs, and they all want to sit back and opine from a keyboard or, even easier, a microphone. (Sorry if all those lazy-ass jobs are taken.) Or maybe they hate the idea that the teams and the fans don't need their newspaper stories anymore, what with Internet options, team Web sites, radio and TV outlets and blogs. Knicks are only treating them as irrelevant as they are.
This was a good read. Sure it's just a basketball team and life will go on if the Knicks have another bad season. But like rego said Professional Sports is a billion dollar industry and there's a lot of money to be made, and loss in this case, when the team is doing well. And the Knicks also happen to play in a city that the media practically runs.
Imagine this happening to the Yankees, it would be catastrophic.
Are you crazy? The beat writers are VERY relevant. And as far as I know people are still reading The NY Times, Daily News, The Post, etc... And if they aren't they are reading the beat writers columns or quotes from them on the net. They are part of the reason many of these athletes are getting paid all these millions of dollars just for dribbling a damn ball down the court.
And when it's speculated that there is a media conspiracy to get rid of Dolan and Isiah, it is disregarded as if it has no weight. I laugh at their pettiness. Dolan was right to put them on a leash. You can't control what someone will write, but you can control your employees and your operation. Isiah stands up to these cowards who encourage and even beg people to boo him and then try to interview him as if they are impartial. You treat a snake like a snake. You don't give him a chance to bite you. Isiah gives them nothing to write and it's driving them nuts. I am so loving this.
thanks for checking in, Dolan.
Incredible. There are people, even several people, not only defending Dolan and co. for their attempted "leashing" of the media coverage. Are they sock puppets, I wonder?
Sure, it's "only" the Knicks, and not a matter of national security or anything. Then again this the SPORTS column and not the front page either.
Let's start with the basics. The team simply sucks. If they fielded a winning ballclub, that would be at least 60-70% of the problem gone right there, no matter what else was going on or how it went down. But in plain black and white, in stark numbers-on-the-ledger reality, the team (a) hasn't had a winning season in six years, (b) has had the highest payroll of any team in the NBA in that time, and (c) has managed to LOSE high draft picks in that time in trades.
Meanwhile, the team that used to be known for "heart and hustle" plays (hard-nosed help defense and rebounding) in its recent glory days (the 1990s), now is among the league's worst in turnovers per game, FG% allowed and points per game allowed.
So to the fan who follows the team, never mind the beat writers, it goes without saying that this team is a bunch of overpaid, underachieving, no-defense bunch of guys. We really don't need Isola or Vaccaro or whoever else to point this out, as long as we have watched at least half of 5 Knicks games in a row at any point of the season in the last 4 years or so.
"Media conspiracy" against Dolan and Thomas? Riiiight. They're running the ship into the ground, so anyone pointing that out must be out to get them. And if all of them are pointing it out, it doesn't mean it's simply blazingly obvious, it must be that they're in cahoots.
The job of the beat writer is not to steer the public image of the team, that is job of the Knicks' PR staff. The beat writers are NOT in the employ of the team and are NOT there to make the team look good. They are there to EXPLAIN what's going on. Only part of their day-to-day coverage is of the facts of the latest game, for the casual fan who's keeping abreast of the team's doings by print. The real appeal of being a beat writer is to be able to be the proxy reporter for the serious fan to give a "behind-the-scenes" look, or "view from the front", of what's going on with their favorite team, win or lose.
For fans who are already disgusted with the team on the court, seeing the team management in full Cover Your Ass mode, of trying to CONTROL image damage rather than addressing it, is the unkindest cut of all. Instead of focusing on fixing the team and its workings, Dolan and co. are desperately trying to spin the problems away, which is another way of saying they prefer to kill the messenger than change the message. "If you keep saying my team sucks, I will cut off your access to them!" Like that does anything to either improve the team, or to raise the morale of the fan in the streets?
To reiterate, if the team were winning, this sort of Behind The Iron Curtain media policy would garner very little interest from the fan: it would just mean Dolan is a control freak and something of an egomaniacal jerk, just like another famous owner of a storied New York franchise. But to see Dolan take a page from Soviet Russia (where they would print "Bumper Harvest of Wheat" in the state controlled newspaper while millions starved) is doubly insulting to the fan base.
As a Sixers fan, the condition of the Knicks is one of the few things that has given me happiness in the last few years; good to see they treat the press as intelligently as they do their personnel decisions. Isiah Forever!
Don't forget-
via the tax abatements for MSG (12m/yr), we are to a degree subsidizing this train wreck. Therefore, I do think that we have the right to know what is going on with this team. If the brain trust think they have the right to do what they want because it is their team, fine. Please give the city back those millions of dollars, please.
Dolan doesn't give a damn about the Knicks, and Isiah is delusional about his progress. Add the Knicks budget minus Dolan and Isiah and we might have a chance to make the playoffs before my 2 year old makes it to high school.
I couldn't agree more, Warren. I'm shocked that some supposed Knick fans would actually defend Dolan and Thomas. It's like some bizarre version of Stockholm syndrome. No need to add anything else because I think you articulated my thoughts pretty well. For those defending Dolan and Thomas, when and where does the accountability begin?
I'm just a humble sports-blogger, but glad to see what I wrote wasn't that far off the mark...
http://with-malice.com/2007/11/26/nba-opinions-with-malice-new-york-stat...
The media make a boring team interesting. In general if people just watched a bad team play lousy basketball with no media coverage they'd just get bored of the team and stop watching. The media writing storylines about the team and players creates added interest that might not exist otherwise.
Also, yes, teams/leagues and the media definitely do have a relationship that greatly helps both sides. If the media doesn't cover something, a heck of a lot of people steadily lose interest in that something.
- http://www.insidehoops.com
The Ship Be Sinkin'
I have long believed the root of all evil on the Knicks is James Dolan. He appears to be a spoiled brat control freak who has trouble getting along with everyone, including his father Charles Dolan (who is beloved). Its my understanding that his father exiled him to run MSG and to keep his hands off Cablevision.
Say what you want about Isiah, but the Knicks are in far better shape than when he started. It has a youthful core and a great deal of talent. The problem started with the trade of Ewing that brought back bad contracts. Personally, I do not care if the Knicks operate over the luxury tax level so long as they field a competitive team. If they fail to make the playoffs, maybe they will get a good draft pick this year.
This article is well written. I have often thought Isola is too harse a critic (a "hater") and have tuned out his and other articles ad nauseum about the decline of the Knicks. I am a big First Amendment advocate so the media policy is quite restrictive but its a private business and I respect their right to control access. It may be backfiring, however, and is not the way I would handle media.
If only Knick fans could fire the owner---perhaps we should chant "Fire Dolan" at the next game! Go Knicks!
Warren has about nailed it. But I'd like to add this: Its amazing to me that any of these acting-out immature clowns (Dolan and company) were allowed to keep their jobs in the wake of the sexual harassment verdict and judgment. In the real corporate world, those types of public transgressions are dealt with harshly and once proven result in immediate termination even at the highest levels. Some adult authority needs to put Dolan and company out on the street before the example they set becomes the norm at MSG.
I read this with nostalgia and bit of envy, which is pathetic, but my overriding thought was, "Take it easy, Berman. You too Beck. None of you has to cover the Islanders."
Seriously, Frank Isola is my hero -- and I'm not just saying that because I co-authored a Knicks book with him and his wife gives me the family leftovers when I unexpectedly show up in the middle of the night. Well, I am. But still...how can this once-proud organization justify its unprofessional treatment of reporters covering the team -- one in particular? It's just sad.
Barry Watkins, Jonathan Supranowitz? What happened to you guys? You used to be people. Well, maybe not you Supranowitz, but Watkins, man, that dude would send me holiday cards, hook me up with Dave Checketts. And now they're essentially trying to poison the lousy, press-room sandwich my boy Frankie I. eats.
It's enough to make a bitter, jaded sports writer never take a free ticket to see Springsteen again. Go buy off someone else, you bastards. : ).
a very interesting read. it shed a lot of light on what is being discussed in knick blogs. the knicks own the heart of this town, to a greater extent it might be said, than even the yankees. what happens with this franchise, whether on the court or in the boardroom or in the pressroom, is important and newsworthy to the fans.
management forgets that without the fans, they have nothing. without the press, they have fewer fans. the press and the public need to be treated with respect. i have been a season ticket holder for 20 years, but this regime is seriously trying my patience. i love the game, i have played it all of my life, and i will always be an nba fan. sadly, if things don't change soon, i will be a fan sitting on his sofa watching the suns play the mavs, rather than in my seat at the garden watching my beloved knicks play anyone.
Hey, JustWondering, consider this: If there wasn't negative stuff going on, what would the Knicks have to hide? Why is there negative stuff going on with a basketball team? It's pro sports, not the White House. There is no national security involved. So why all the covert BS? Why the need to attempt to control the media? Dolan is a butt-head. He is the worst thing to ever happen to New York sports. The Garden lost $11 million to Anucha Browne Sanders and did the expected -- raised your cable rates -- to pay for it. Dolan is despicable and no New York fan should root for the Knicks or the Rangers until the franchises are taken away from that family.
First, you have "minority and female reporters" taking the place of these "cranky white men" (No, nothing racist about THAT statement). But then you go on to call them "irrelevant." So, do you REALLY want minority and women reporters taking such irrelevant jobs? Your logic (or lack thereof) is making my head spin. And talk about cranky. Your crankiness rivals the Knicks payroll in its size.
Maybe the Knicks should treat reporters in a professional manner. Or are you looking for a reason for why that wouldn't be the right thing to do? Clearly, you're not a sportswriter, otherwise you never would have used the word "cushy" to describe what they do. I'll take the cops beat any day. No early story, no running, no deadlines. You make a phone call (or receive a call) and a media relations person fills you in on whatever has happened in the last couple of hours. AND, that person does so in a courteous and professional manner. Talk about cushy.
I couldn't help but think this all sounds eerily like George Bush's White House.
The Knicks are disgusting and insufferable, plain and simple. Why they keep Thomas around to further drag the franchise through the mud is a puzzle to us all. One day they will be good again, but it will be once current management turns over.
And, minority and women don't want those jobs, or else they'd have them. Do you know how desperately newspapers want diverse reporters? The problem is that "cranky old white men" are the ones who pursue those jobs.
This team represents the City of New York (among other things). These men are not the kind of ambassadors the City should have. Until they're hit hard enough where it hurts nothing will change.
Must have missed it, exactly how much are the papers paying the Knicks to promote their team?
Nothing.
So why do the whiny press think that they deserve some special kind of treatment. Twice they mention the catering, a sandwich in a back room, or a cruise. Aww what a shame, they aren't being pampered anymore.
This isn't about freedom of speech, they can and will write whatever they want to. Its about perks of the job. Suck it up, the gravy train seems to have stopped.
Sounds like Dolan is getting advice on media handling from the Clintons. They are the pros when it comes to trashing their critics.