This interview was not conducted by me, but i decided to post it as it corresponds with my Knick post last year
A few weeks back, our Knicks Trade Game generated interest, and some good suggestions, but, surprisingly, no one suggested keeping the Knicks as is and just arresting/banning all fans who disagreed. It is a simple but brilliant strategy. Find those fans who enjoy a 8-23 record and make the rest just go away.
In case you haven’t heard, the New York Knicks have expanded their Isiah Thomas protection net from inside MSG, where hecklers and posters are forbidden, to the streets outside. Ivan Cash a student at SUNY was arrested Wednesday for selling a t-shirt that expressed his feelings at the direction the Knicks are headed in. “Don’t hate player or the game. Hate the coach” reads the shirt which is embossed with a picture of the now infamous Thomas.
I sat down via email with one of those fans who, by way of expressing his opinion, was made to go away.
How long have you been a Knicks fan?
Ivan - I’ve been a Knicks fan for as long as I can remember. In middle school, I listened to EVERY single game on my walkman. Lately though, I just check the box score.
At what point did you start to consider selling the shirts (a specific loss or last season etc . . .)
Ivan - It was actually for a screen printing class I took in the Fall of 2006. I had to come up with a t-shirt idea and, as a Knicks fan who, like everyone else, was frustrated with Isiah’s lackadaisical coaching job, I decided to make it Knicks-themed.
Do you plan on selling the shirts in the future?
Ivan - I don’t plan on going back to MSG any time soon, as I go on vacation soon and then I return back to school in Geneseo, NY near Rochester. (I’m a communications major, graphic design minor by the way.) I do plan on continually selling the shirts through my website though. If Isiah’s still around next year, and I’m able to hook up with another vendor, I’d love to sell the shirts again.
What was your jail experience like?
Ivan - Jail time certainly was an experience! The cell was filthy and smelly, and I felt like an animal trapped in a cage. What a degrading experience—especially since I was charged with a bogus crime!
What do you see that is good about the Knicks right now?
Ivan - I see young energetic players that play with passion: David Lee, Nate Robinson, Rolando Balkman are really the only Knick players I like.
Do you play Fantasy NBA?
Ivan - I do play Fantasy Hoops; I play on SportingNews, and am in 2nd place out of my 21-team division.
How many Knicks are on your roster(s)?
Ivan - *Laughs* Very Funny. (No one)
Do you plan to fight the ticket?
Ivan - While I don’t agree whatsoever with how I was arrested or the reasoning of my arrest, it will probably be too big a pain to fight it, especially seeing as there are virtually no repercussions, aside from having to waste my time getting to NYC from my college which is 7 hours away.
Do you feel like you were targeted because the Knicks made a request to stop the anti-Isiah movement like they did when banning the fire Isiah posters and handing out warnings to fans who heckle the players or Isiah?
The cop at the precinct admitted that MSG anticipated me, and called the police to do something about it. My arresting officer however, who didn’t hear this conversation between me and the other cop, denied any MSG connection. I just find it EXTREMELY fishy that I was arrested literally 2 minutes after getting to my destination, near the Garden. When I sell, I’m holding posters of the shirts as well as shouting catch phrases like “Love the franchise; hate the coach!” or “Give me a draft pick for a T-Shirt.” Up to the point I was arrested, I was doing NONE of those things. I was literally standing, chatting with my friend who would be helping me sell. I was waiting for my vendor to come and put the duffle bag of shirts and poster with the shirt against the sidewalk wall. The cops argued that I had intent to sell since the price was on the poster, even though we weren’t selling nor would I have sold to anyone offering me $ before my vendor arrived. (At one of the prior games, I actually did turn someones $ down because I wasn’t with my vendor.) I was trying to sell everything legitimately, and the cops were really just busting me, despite my compliance and politeness during our interaction before they actually handcuffed me and took me to jail. As I was being hand-cuffed, our vendor arrived. Before even looking at his papers, (which turned out, according to my arresting officer, to be ‘tax papers’ rather than a ‘vendors license’) the cops put me in the van and told me I was going to jail. [Interesting side note: The previous 3 games I’d been selling at, the cops looked at my vendor’s license, which apparently may have been a tax paper, and approved us selling there. So why this sudden extreme disparity in judgement? I blame MSG.
Does this arrest make you feel differently about free speech, the Knicks and the NYPD?
While in the freezing-cold, smelly, ridiculously dirty jail cell, I had an epiphany. What has our society come to where we put people in cages not because they are murdering or stealing but because they are expressing themselves by either selling a product or writing on a wall? I don’t want to get overly political, but it definitely raised my interest in anarchistic ideology. What gives cops the right to lock people in a cage, when the cop themselves could just as easily be morally corrupt.
I was standing for something I believe in—something that is supposed to be a constitutional right in America.
I’m not a cop hater; I have a lot of respect for the men and ladies who put on their lives on the line to battle criminals while most people sit at desks doing office work. I’m just disappointed with the NYPD’s judgement and attention to superficial issues. As a Knicks fan, it’s disheartening to know that they are indirectly responsible for my arrest. I still love ‘em, but it’s sad.
Who would be your choice to run the Knicks?
Ivan - I wish someone like Mark Cuban came in as owner. As for coach? Anyone who’s ambitious, level-headed, and possesses good fore-sight. I don’t want someone who has unrealistic goals and expectations. I wouldn’t mind the Knicks losing for a few seasons if it meant rebuilding from the ground, ensuring a better team in future years to come.
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