If you are in the basketball world and have not heard about Patrick Ewing’s trouble gaining entry to Madison Square Garden, I am writing this blog so one of the top 50 players in NBA history doesn’t have to experience this type of humiliation again. It was pretty clear in the video interview with him that Coach Ewing was upset that security didn’t know who he was and rightfully so. I mean, seriously Patrick Ewing was the face of the New York Knicks franchise and now is the head coach at Georgetown University. I am curious to know what rock these people are living under.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXQpI83UYVY
41 second interview with Coach Patrick Ewing.
Not only was/is Patrick Ewing one of the best players in the history of the game, he was an 11 time all star, won Rookie of the Year with the Knicks but he also is the only player in New York history to play in over 1,000 games. It seems like at the very least that all staffers, security guards, concession workers, parking lot attendants and ticket sales personnel should know the history of the team to some degree.
In Patrick Ewing’s words regarding the situation, he said “I thought this was my building” and if the truth were to be told, he has a pretty good point and a great argument.
While phrases like “Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am” may come across as conceded, and while I grew up on Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson, it is only fair to say that NBA franchises have a duty to educate their employees. In this case the New York Knicks dropped the ball in my opinion. While I have no clue whether the incident was innocent or malicious, I certainly hope that situations like this never happen again and that we show respect to not only the best players in NBA history but all players throughout the league.
As I write this, it’s still shocking that a 7′ legend and Dream Team Gold Medalist was even stopped much less, not allowed to enter no matter what door he wanted to come in. Let’s do better New York.
As an eternal optimist and someone who continually works to fight more for others more than I do for myself, I put together a couple pictures for the security team along with the marketing team at Madison Square Garden to share with their workers to avoid misunderstandings in the future. While I understand that the new generation will always soon forget the players of the past, I certainly hope this helps. see pictures below
Coach Jason Warner
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