Stephen A. Smith Claims NY Knicks Owner at Odds with Players Over Trip to White House: ‘They Don’t Want to Go’

ScreenshotStephen A. Smith claimed Wednesday that New York Knicks owner James Dolan was at odds with players who didn’t want to go to the White House.After ending the franchise’s half-century championship drought this past summer, the Knicks have gotten off to a rocky start in the 2026-27 season. The team lost its first three games before finally getting the first win against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.The slow start has been a surprise for a team that just won an NBA championship just a few months ago. While talking about the team on First Take, Smith explained how internal friction could be a factor.“This is what I’ve been hearing and I’m gonna say it,” Smith began. “Don’t know how much truth there is to it because I haven’t heard from the players directly, but one of the things that people have been talking around about around New York City, and around Madison Square Garden, is that the climate was a little bit different. People have been a little bit stressed because the owner, James Dolan, has an attitude with players because they don’t wanna go to the White House.”"The owner James Dolan has an attitude with players because they don't want to go to the White House" – Stephen A. Smith on what he's hearing about the New York Knicks pic.twitter.com/ufJtKvqPjK— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 28, 2026Smith emphasized that he didn’t “give a damn” about the White House situation, but said he believed it because Dolan was “a walking embodiment of petulance.”“This man is as petty as they come,” Smith added.Shortly after the Knicks won the championship, Dolan — a close friend of President Donald Trump who even invited him to Game 3 of the NBA Finals — said he’d already accepted the president’s invitation to the White House. Star point guard Jalen Brunson, however, said the team’s decision was still up in the air.The post Stephen A. Smith Claims NY Knicks Owner at Odds with Players Over Trip to White House: ‘They Don’t Want to Go’ first appeared on Mediaite.