Madison Square Garden Security Uses Facial Recognition Software To Catch Hold Of Knicks Owner James Dolan’s critics
According to reports, James Dolan’s facial-recognition sanctions extend to fans and even celebrities who criticise the Knicks and Rangers owner on social media in addition to attorneys involved in ongoing legal proceedings against him or Madison Square Garden and its affiliates.
A separate report released on Thursday detailed how people allegedly encountered similar issues with MSG security for being publicly critical of Dolan, including one person who reportedly told him to “sell the team” online. This comes a week after The Post reported that a mother was denied entry into Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes because her law firm was on an attorney exclusion list.
Further, the Garden uses a tiered penalty system to differentiate offenders, according to sources cited in a report by Ethan.
This is wild. Knicks owner James Dolan is reportedly using facial recognition to track, ban, and harass fans that say “sell the team” on social media. https://t.co/o1ynSq0Bmo
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 29, 2022
Madison Square Garden Security Uses Facial Recognition Software To Catch Hold Of Knicks Owner James Dolan’s critics
An article by a veteran NBA reporter claims that Madison Square Garden security is being accused of utilising face recognition software to identify and target fans who are critical of New York Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan.
Fans who spoke to Ethan Strauss, previously of ESPN and The Athletic, claimed that security had harassed them after they had criticised Charles Dolan, a 67-year-old sports tycoon and the founder of HBO and Cablevision. Additionally, Strauss claims to have spoken with insiders who assert the existence of a six-tiered penalty system used to categorise critical admirers, including famous people like actor Michael Rapaport and director Spike Lee.
OK, this is outrageous and Orwellian, and the City of New York needs to step in.
James Dolan owns Madison Square Garden & Radio City Music Hall. He is using facial recognition to ban all attorneys at law firms who have represented clients who sued him 1/https://t.co/EyqO1GAdTa
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) December 23, 2022
In a statement provided to DailyMail.com on Friday, MSG representatives rejected Strauss’ claims and insisted that the firm uses facial recognition software openly.
Knicks legend Charles Oakley infamously was ejected from a game at the Garden by security and arrested in 2017, while film director and Knicks mega-fan Spike Lee was denied entry via a Garden employee entrance in 2020, replying in part, “Are you going to treat me like Charles Oakley?”
James Dolan's facial-recognition tech also targets Knicks fans, celebrities who criticize him https://t.co/i4KZ5BNfp0 pic.twitter.com/4jMXDyTiHq
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 30, 2022
According to the Substack report, Lee is still included on the arena’s Code of Conduct list as a Code 2 offender among a six-category tier, which ranges from zero to five. Code 2 is described as “we know you’re in the building at all times.”
An MSG spokesperson said, “This is written by an unqualified blogger with multiple inaccuracies and incorrect facts.”
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