New York Knicks Fined $50,000 by NBA

The New York Knicks were on Monday fined $50,000 by the NBA, according to reports. 

The New York Knicks were penalized for not giving the New York Daily News access to their post-draft press conference.

The Friday press conference was attended by the rest of the New York media. In it, the New York Knicks introduced draftees RJ Barrett and Ignas Brazdeikis.

It’s the second time that the New York Daily News has been banned from a Knicks press conference. In December, columnist Stefan Bondy was denied access to a news conference with president Steve Mills.

At the time, it was interpreted as retaliation for the NY Daily News’ “Do It” headline on a story about Dolan selling the team. When asked why Bondy was banned, a Knicks representative provided a blunt statement.

“It was invitation only. There is nothing more to add.”

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The New York Knicks released a statement about the Friday incident. 

“The Knicks acknowledge that we did not comply with the NBA’s media policy and made an error in interpreting Friday’s announcement as an invite-only event,” the team said in a statement. “As we do throughout the year, we have and will continue to provide access to credentialed media as per the league’s policy.”

The Professional Basketball Writers Association condemned the Knicks in a statement of their own. 

“James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks franchise, previously has said that barring Daily News employees from media availabilities sends the Daily News ‘a message.’ In reality, the only message he is sending is that he is a bully who retaliates against legitimate news outlets that publish content he dislikes.”

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It is yet unknown why the NY Daily News was banned this time around. However, the Knicks would want to be careful. If they keep disrespecting the media, they could bring a tidal wave of negative coverage down on their heads.