James Dolan says he won't sell alcohol at Rangers game in bizarre rant - The Washington Post

At contented is Madison Square Garden’s usage of facial designation exertion to prohibition attorneys who enactment for firms that person filed lawsuits against Dolan and his institution from entering the arena. The signifier has received wide condemnation from civil-liberties watchdogs — positive the attention of New York State Attorney General Letitia James — and New York authorities legislators have introduced a bill that would prohibition the maneuver astatine sporting events.

But the lone factual enactment successful the substance was taken by New York’s State Liquor Authority (SLA), which successful November reminded MSG officials that they — nether the presumption of their liquor licence and authorities instrumentality — cannot prohibit members of the wide nationalist from entering the arena.

Dolan responded, arsenic lone helium can, connected Thursday during a 17-minute interview connected New York’s Fox affiliate.

“The SLA is way, mode beyond their skis … they’re being highly assertive and they’re saying, ‘We’re going to instrumentality distant your liquor license.’ So I person a small astonishment for them,” Dolan said. “What we’re going to do, right, is we’re going to prime a night, possibly a Rangers game, and we’re going to unopen down each the liquor and intoxicant successful the building.

“It’s similar thing retired of ‘The Godfather.’ It’s like, ‘It’s lone business.’ It’s not lone business, and if you writer us, we’re going to archer you not to come,” Dolan continued. “If you’re grandstanding with the press, et cetera, I’m going to archer you: Go ahead, instrumentality distant my liquor license. People are inactive going to travel to the games.”

Dolan past went aft Sharif Kabir, the SLA’s main executive, saying helium would station his photograph on with his telephone fig and email code astatine the MSG areas wherever intoxicant usually was sold.

“Instead, what we’re going to bash is, wherever you tin get liquor, we’re going to enactment 1 of these up,” Dolan said. “It says, if you would similar to portion astatine a game, delight telephone Sharif Kabir, Chief Executive Officer. … Tell him to instrumentality to his knitting and what he’s expected to beryllium doing and halt grandstanding and trying to get press.”

In a connection Thursday, the SLA said it was investigating MSG implicit alleged violations related to its argumentation of banning Dolan’s ineligible opponents.

“All establishments licensed to postulation successful alcoholic beverages by the State Liquor Authority are taxable to and are expected to comply with the aforesaid laws and obligations, whether they are a tiny concern oregon a multi-billion dollar corporation,” SLA spokesperson Joshua D. Heller said.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a New York State legislator who represents portion of Manhattan, described Dolan’s interrogation arsenic a “public meltdown” successful a statement and called him “the poster kid of privilege, arsenic idiosyncratic who inherited his wealthiness and receives an yearly $43 cardinal dollar taxation interruption from New Yorkers.”

“New York shouldn’t let petty tyrants to enforce their warped fantasies connected the nationalist portion reaping millions each twelvemonth from payer subsidies,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “I’m grateful to some the New York State Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney for launching inquiries into Dolan’s vindictive concern practices intended to soundlessness his critics.”