AI Summary
5 min readThe Air Up There: NBA Politics, NFL Power Plays, and the Art of the Stiff-Arm
The NBA Finals are underway, but the most revealing stories in sports this week aren't happening on the court. They're happening in boardrooms, congressional hearing rooms, and the frozen feud between a billionaire owner and a former player who was physically dragged out of an arena seven years ago. The throughline connecting these stories is power — who has it, who's afraid to use it, and who's willing to flaunt it.
The Oakley-Dolan Standoff
The most personal of these power struggles involves Knicks owner James Dolan and former Knicks star Charles Oakley. Oakley has been banned from Madison Square Garden since 2017, when he was forcibly removed from the arena, arrested, and charged — a scene that played out live on sports radio. The dispute has since escalated into a legal battle, with Oakley suing Dolan and MSG.
What makes the story new this week is that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Michael Jordan both attempted to broker a peace deal. Silver revealed that he and Jordan reached out to mediate between Dolan and Oakley. Dolan refused. As Ben Maller puts it, "If Gandhi asked James Dolan to squash the beef, he'd still say no."
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Ben Maller Show
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (03:07) **Hour 4 Kickoff & NBA Finals Recap** - Ben opens the hour, recaps the Spurs blowing a 14-point lead in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and teases a fan running onto the court.
- 2 (06:08) **James Dolan Rejects Peace Offer from Silver & Jordan** - Adam Silver and Michael Jordan tried to broker peace between Knicks owner James Dolan and Charles Oakley, but Dolan refused.
- 3 (11:01) **NBA Investigation into Clippers & Kawhi Leonard Drags On** - Silver says the probe into alleged salary cap circumvention via Kawhi's endorsement deal with Aspiration is "close to wrapping up," but no timeline given.
- 4 (17:02) **Roger Goodell Rejects Congressional Invitation** - NFL Commissioner declines Rep. Jim Jordan's invitation to testify on the league's antitrust exemption.
- 5 (21:18) **Ferg Dog in Social Media Jail & Maller Militia Drama** - Ben addresses the banning of celebrity militia member Ferg Dog, blaming "friendly fire" from a jealous member.
- 6 (26:14) **Listener Call: Hollering James & Kyler Murray Jersey** - A long-time caller, Hollering James, discusses receiving a Kyler Murray jersey as a gift.
- 7 (31:05) **Caller Paul on the Clippers Investigation Timing** - Paul argues the NBA is sitting on the investigation results to release them during the summer lull when no one cares.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Ben Maller talks about both Adam Silver and Michael Jordan both failing to convince James Dolan to end Charles Oakley's ban from MSG, the holdup on the NBA deciding the fate of the Clippers over Kawhi Leonard's alleged no-show job, Fact or Fiction, and more!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from this podcast
The Ben Maller Show →