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Charles Oakley blasts Knicks owner James Dolan, compares him to Donald Sterling

Charles Oakley has had his lifetime ban lifted from Madison Square Garden by New York Knicks owner James Dolan, but the two don’t appear to be on speaking terms any time soon.

Speaking with SI’s Maggie Gray, Oakley compared Dolan to former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, said Dolan’s insinuation he was an alcoholic was out of line, and said he preferred jail to the Knicks acting nice to him.

“He’s way out of line,” said Oakley. “If I had those types of problems, someone would have came forward and said something about me to say ‘He’s right’. He’s trying to paint me as a different person. I’m not that guy.”

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green recently said that Dolan had a “slavemaster mentality”, and when Gray asked Oakley to respond he said he felt Dolan was an issue waiting to happen for the league.

“He’s a control freak. He’s got everybody in the Garden on pins and needles,” said Oakley. “The other owners know this ... they’re going to end up letting something happen like what happened to the LA Clippers. It’s that bad and they won’t talk about it.”

Oakley also felt that he thought the meeting that occurred between himself and Dolan in Adam Silver’s office -- with buddy Michael Jordan conferencing in -- was not meant to end the issue between them. Rather, Oakley felt the meeting was for the league to save face heading into the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.

The former Knicks big man also said he didn’t want the league or Dolan to get a pass for trying to reach out and help him with the situation.

“I’d rather go to jail.”