Patrick Ewing found out the hard way that sometimes returning home doesn’t always go over well. Ewing is coaching the Georgetown Hoyas at the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, and his team pulled off a big upset of Villanova on Thursday.
After the game, though, Ewing had a complaint, asking why so few staffers recognized him at the arena he once called home and suggesting he’d have to call Knicks owner James Dolan to figure this situation out.
“I thought this was my building? And I feel terrible that I’m getting stopped, accosted, asking for passes,” Ewing said in a Thursday press conference. “Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am. And I’m getting stopped. … I’m like ‘What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?’ I have to call [James Dolan] and say, ‘Geez. Is my number in the rafters or what?’”
Ewing spent 15 seasons with the Knicks after they took him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1985. Ewing helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals in 94 and 99. Ewing is a New York sports icon and should be treated much better than this.
