Spike Lee has been sitting courtside at New York Knicks games for longer than I can remember.

Of course, the Knicks currently stink, and none of their fans are happy with the front office or ownership, which means that tension between those entities is at an all-time high right now.

That manifested itself on Monday night in a back hallway altercation when Lee was trying to enter Madison Square Garden. All kinds of stuff was reported in the hours following that incident, and in a statement released today, the Knicks explained the encounter this way:

“The idea that Spike Lee is a victim because we have repeatedly asked him to not use our employee entrance and instead use a dedicated VIP entrance – which is used by every other celebrity who enters The Garden – is laughable,” the statement reads. “It’s disappointing that Spike would create this false controversy to perpetuate drama. He is welcome to come to The Garden anytime via the VIP or general entrance, just not through our employee entrance, which is what he and Jim agreed to last night when they shook hands.”

It’s a rather brusque statement, perhaps curt.

The drama they are referring to I’m sure is this earlier appearance on First Take:

You may be unhappy with the Sixers right now, but at least you’re not a Knicks fan.