Charles Oakley (CBS Sports)

Charles Oakley spent his NBA career battling bigger and more powerful opponents on the hardwood as an enforcer for the New York Knicks. He was a fan favorite and by all accounts still is, even off the court.

We’ve seen this affection shown through in light of the incident that occurred on February 8 at Madison Square Garden between him and Knicks owner James Dolan. Oakley bought his own way into the game and then was forcefully ejected via the James Dolan security task force.

The “Oak Man” was belittled in the following days and painted as a man with many troubles in his life. This was by the organization he gave his heart and soul to, night in and night out, in the world’s most famous arena, battling for this organization.

Oakley is now ready to take this fight to the court room. The 54-year-old gray haired, ex enforcer for the Knicks will now try to hurt his former boss where all owners put the most value: in their pockets.

This past Friday, Charles Oakley rejected a conditional dismissal offer that would have whipped his record clean of this incident after six months of good behavior.

Instead, him and his attorney Alex Spiro have asked for and received a trial date regarding the charges brought upon him via MSG and the police. That date has been set for later this summer, August 4, 2017.

Spiro has a knack for acquitting NBA players on charges against them. For example, Spiro was the attorney that set Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha free of criminal charges stemming from an incident at 1OAK nightclub in New York City in 2015.

He will be trying to do the same for the “Oak Man” as he takes aim at taking down Knicks Owner James Dolan. Dolan tried to drag his name through the mud and Charles was not pleased with that. He feels he was in the right, that he did nothing wrong and that Dolan was out of line with the Knicks statement after the incident.

There’s been a long standing feud between Oakley and Dolan. It finally came to a head on that nationally televised game in early February against the Los Angeles Clippers. Which side will prevail and come out the other end with the truth? Of that, I can’t be sure. One thing I am sure of is that Oakley has done a lot more good for the Knickerbockers than James Dolan has, and the fans are clearly behind the much beloved ex-Knick.