Legendary Knicks power forward Charles Oakley and the Knicks organization are continuing last night's Madison Square Garden squabble in the press. Remarking upon his arrest, after allegedly punching three MSG guards who were forcibly removing him from the arena, Oakley insisted that he had done nothing to justify being ejected in the first place: "They were staring at me. They asked me to leave and I said I'm not leaving."

The Daily News' Frank Isola caught up with Oakley after he was released from the Midtown South Precinct, and the former Knick said "that he purchased his own tickets and was seated two rows behind Garden Chairman James Dolan. When several Knicks officials became aware of where Oakley was seated, security guards approached Oakley and asked him why he was here."

However, the Knicks claim that Oakley "behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner." The NYPD says their officers responded to a person causing a disturbance, and Oakley allegedly punched security around 8:30 p.m.

Charles Oakley shoves Madison Square Garden security and is escorted out of the building in strange scene pic.twitter.com/lTphvnSzFV — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 9, 2017 Soooooo Charles Oakley just got into a fight at he Knicks game. pic.twitter.com/klZBD89VI7 — Ian Schafer (@ischafer) February 9, 2017

Oakley was charged with three counts of third-degree assault. Today he took his case to the NY Post, explaining that, "They have to tell [Dolan] when I come into the Garden. They have to tell him — I was told by people who work there — when I come to the Garden, they have to go tell him."

Further, he said he was not bothering Dolan. "How, four rows from him, can I be heckling him?" Oakley asked. "If you’re a fan he’s going to walk into a game and he’s going to heckle James Dolan? I’m a straight-up guy. You know that from my career. You know I wasn’t heckling this guy."

Isola wrote in a column today:

Oakley was wrong to put his hands on any of the security guards, good men who are simply doing their jobs. But the Knicks are also out of line for harassing a paying customer and then trying to humiliate him by releasing a statement and saying he needs help. It's despicable.

As the news of Oakley's arrest spread, I received a dozen or so calls from former Knicks employees who all wanted to help. No one was condoning his actions but they all know the man and appreciate what No. 34 meant to the franchise.

This afternoon, the Knicks issued ANOTHER statement to throw more fuel on the fire:

In the court of public opinion, Oak is winning:

And the top NBA players, the kind that the Knicks are trying to attract, aren't amused:

One-time Knicks nemesis Reggie Miller agreed:

If you're a FA to be, why would you play for an Owner who treats the past greats like this or a President who stabs star player in the back? — Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) February 9, 2017

Oakley said on ESPN Radio, "Well first of all I want to say I'm sorry to all the fans of the Garden, all the fans. It was just a bad scene. I love New York, gave my whole heart. I walked into the Garden, simply I was there four minutes."