Madison Square Garden Bans Lawyer Representing New York Cop Injured at a Boxing Match

"For years, Dolan openly excluded entire law firms from his venues if a single attorney was in any sort of legal dispute with the Garden; those bans would then be enforced by Dolan's increasingly sophisticated facial recognition system. What wasn't entirely clear was whether Madison Square Garden was continuing to grow its legal blacklist. A letter to Scola, dated April 30 and reviewed by WIRED, suggested this practice continues. "Any tickets to MSG Venues," the letter reads, "are hereby revoked.""

"The ban also highlights the fissures in the multilayered relationship between New York City's public servants and its most iconic arena. As WIRED reported last month, MSG security functionally acted as a second, unsanctioned surveillance force in midtown Manhattan-without the New York Police Department's formal permission. (NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani called this expansion beyond the Garden's walls " deeply troubling," and promised further investigation.)"

"Dolan says that the biometric surveillance system is in place to stop dangerous actors from entering his properties-"if you're a terrorist, [the list] will say that's a terrorist," he once told the local Fox affiliate-but the NYPD hasn't shared facial recognition or any other kind of data with the Garden. The Garden did, however, add a New York police officer's photo to the many, many others in its facial recognition database, as WIRED reported."

""New Yorkers should be able to go to a game or a concert without their rights being violated," New York attorney general Letitia James told the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast in a statement. "My office is closely re""

A New York police officer injured during a private security job at Madison Square Garden sued the arena. Lawyer John Scola, known for representing local police officers, was banned from Madison Square Garden and other James Dolan-owned venues. Dolan has excluded entire law firms from his properties when any attorney is involved in a dispute with the Garden, and those exclusions are enforced through facial recognition. A letter dated April 30 indicates tickets to MSG venues are revoked. The ban reflects tensions between city public servants and the arena, including concerns that MSG security has operated as an unsanctioned surveillance force. Dolan claims biometric surveillance targets dangerous entrants, while the NYPD has not shared facial recognition data with the Garden. The Garden added a police officer’s photo to its facial recognition database, and New York’s attorney general criticized the impact on residents’ rights.

Read at WIRED