Fox Sports 1 Takes Down Ad Campaign Ripping The Knicks After James Dolan Flipped

The Michael Beasley era has officially begun for one of the most tortured fan bases in the NBA. The oft troubled former number two pick who has defined the phrase ‘NBA journeyman’ is one of the bright spots on a team shelling out a combined $126.6 million over the next four years to two players who’ve never made an All-Star team (Joakim Noah and Tim Hardaway Jr.).

The Knicks, who finished nearly 20 games under .500 in 2016, traded the polarizing Carmelo Anthony to the Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round pick. Sexy? Far from it. The Knicks have a young star in Kristaps Porzingis aka Porzin-God and are tentatively optimistic about their 18-year-old number 8 pick Frank Ntilikina–a point guard from France. But it’s going to take a lot more than optimism to ignite hope in a franchise that has won one playoff series in 15 years and haven’t won more than 37 games the past four seasons.

New York’s Fox Sports 1 has preemptively prepared for another long season by launching an ad campaign in the New York subways ripping the team and owner James Dolan, the same owner who kicked Knicks legend Charles Oakley out of a game last season. FS1 asked riders on Tuesday to “pick a side” on the Times Square to Grand Central shuttle: Are the Knicks hopeful or hopeless?

Brutal.

So brutal that FS1 is now taking the campaign down after it went viral on social media. According to Zagsblog, a “furious” James Dolan personally called News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, setting off a “shitstorm internally at Fox,” one source reported.

According to ESPN,

A source said the Knicks, whose logos and players were used in the ad, did not approve the advertising and that it would be taken down by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“Today, FS1 featured statements on a New York City subway car intended to reflect the distinct emotions and opinions of passionate sports fans,” Fox said in a statement. “We regret the tone and are removing the content in its entirety.”

Best of luck to Knicks fans this season. There’s always the Brooklyn Nets….

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[h/t Total Pro Sports]

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Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.