Charles Oakley to attend Knicks vs. Cavs game thanks to invitation by Dan Gilbert

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has invited Charles Oakley to sit two rows behind him for their game against the New York Knicks tonight, where Oakley plans to attend, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

“Oak will be in his hometown of Cleveland. When in Cleveland, he always tried to attend a Cavs game,” Oakley spokesman Akhtar Farzaie told ESPN.

The invitation comes after Oakley was arrested at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 9 after fighting security during the game. Oakley was taken to Midtown Precinct South and charged with three counts of misdemeanor third-degree assault and one count of misdemeanor criminal trespass. Now, he’ll be back near his former team that shut him out just weeks ago.

“Me and four friends went to the game tonight to watch the Knicks and the Clippers,” Oakley said in an interview at Jimmy’s NYC, a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. “We had just sat down to have a good time. Next thing I know, I was asked to leave the building. I asked why, and they said, ‘You have to leave because someone ordered you to leave.’

“More and more kept coming at me, and I was like, ‘Why do I have to leave?’ They said I had to leave. They got ordered,” Oakley said. “I was on my back. Total disrespect.”

There’s been an ongoing feud between Knicks owner James Dolan and Oakley over the years. After the incident at MSG, Dolan banned Oakley from Knicks games, as well as saying that, “I do think that Charles needs help,” insinuating that Oakley had a problem with alcoholism.

The ban was eventually lifted days later, partially thanks to NBA commissioner Adam Silver meeting with the two sides and Michael Jordan, but Oakley expressed wanting an apology from Dolan.

“It’s not about being at the Garden,” Oakley told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. “It’s about the fans. I want them to apologize to the fans. I told the commissioner I want them to apologize to the fans.”

Thursday night, Oak will be in front of the Knicks yet again.