Thursday afternoon should have been a time of celebration for the Georgetown Men's Basketball program. The team took down nationally-ranked Villanova in a 72-71 upset win to advance to the next round of the 2021 Big East Tournament. Instead, Georgetown Men's Basketball Head Coach Patrick Ewing was accosted by security at Madison Square Garden.
During a post-game conference, Patrick Ewing celebrated his team's win, but he was visibly miffed by the actions of Madison Square Garden. Ewing told reporters that he was "accosted" and stopped multiple times as he attempted to do his job.
"I do want to say one thing, though. I thought this was my building," he said.
"And I feel terrible that I'm getting stopped, accosted, [people] asking for passes."
He is not only the Georgetown Men's Basketball coach, but he also played at Madison Square Garden as a member of the New York Knicks. As the team's starting center, Ewing earned the 1985-1986 Rookie of the Year Award, appeared in 11 NBA All-Star games and earned seven All-NBA honors. He also helped lead the team to their only two NBA Finals appearances since 1973. Not to mention, he won three Big East Tournament titles in Madison Square Garden as a member of the Georgetown Hoyas. He currently has his number retired in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
"Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am, and I'm getting stopped -- I can't move around this building. I was like, 'What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?'"
Ewing is not the first prominent member of the Knicks family to have issues with security. In recent years, Charles Oakley and Spike Lee have both had their fair share of issues with security at Madison Square Garden.
In spite of what happened yesterday, Ewing and the Hoyas will return to Madison Square Garden on Friday for a semifinal matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates.
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