NY Knicks owner meets with Charles Oakley

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- Owner of the New York Knicks, James Dolan, postponed a meeting with local leaders Monday so that he could meet with Charles Oakley.

Madison Square Garden released a statement saying: "The meeting was postponed so that Jim Dolan could meet with Charles Oakley and Adam Silver."

Local leaders were upset at the cancellation of the meeting earlier.

"This is only the first quarter, there are still three more quarters to go and you better believe if they want to win this they better get ahead of it," said Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams.

Dolan was scheduled to discuss the altercation involving former Knicks star, Charles Oakley, at the executive offices.

Adams said Dolan was going to tell his side of the story about an embarrassing incident last week when security yanked, cuffed and dragged Oakley out of Madison Square Garden.

"This is an issue that is not going to go away and Mr. Dolan is going to have to make a determination," Adams said. "It started in MSG and we're going to have to end it here in our city as well."

Oakley was charged with assault and trespassing. Dolan even took it a step further and indefinitely banned Oakley from The Garden, however it seems that the Knicks are open to inviting Oakley back at some point, based on the statement released by Silver.

Adams and other local leaders, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are demanding the ban be lifted, and had been threatening to picket if was not.

Dolan tried to do some damage control during Sunday's game while former Knick Latrell Spreewell rallied around him. But Adams called that a ploy to cover up the entire incident which he believes had racial undertones and did not start with Oakley but rather with security.

"A group of people did a stare down like a street thug instead of the security team that they should have," Adams said.

Oakley is due back in court April 11.