New York Knicks favorite Charles Oakley made his first court appearance on Tuesday since his arrest and ejection while attending at game at Madison Square Garden.
Oakley, 53, was arraigned in criminal court in Manhattan on misdemeanor assault and other charges before being released without bail.
Prosecutors have accused the Oakley of striking a security guard in the February fracas. They say two other people who intervened were pushed and received cuts.
In court, prosecutors read into the record a statement Oakley made after his arrest alleging that Knicks owner James Dolan kept him under watch for no reason.
''Every time I come to the Garden, Dolan has security guards following me,'' Oakley said, according to the prosecutors. ''Every time I come to the Garden it's a problem. I buy my own ticket. I don't want to feel like I owe them anything. I had a couple of drinks before the game but nothing at the game.''
The former NBA enforcer told The Associated Press in an interview this week that he had no regrets over his behavior that night that led him getting handcuffed near an arena exit as he waited for police to arrive.
''I would have done everything just the same way,'' Oakley said by phone. ''I didn't do nothing. I was only in the arena five minutes. I didn't know you could get in that much trouble in five minutes.''
Oakley played for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998.
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