responsible for paying the remainder of the settlement. In July 2012, Dolan faced criticism for allowing popular Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin to sign with the Houston Rockets without matching their $25.1 million offer. In February 2015, Dolan responded to a letter from Irving Bierman, a 73-year-old lifelong Knicks fan, that criticized Dolan's ownership of the Knicks and questioned his leadership with a seething letter of his own, telling the fan to "root for the Nets because the Knicks don't want you" and that Bierman was "a sad person" and probably an "alcoholic maybe". Dolan later addressed the issue with the press, but did not apologize, only saying the letter was a case of "tit for tat" and declaring the incident "over". Newly appointed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver did not reprimand or penalize Dolan, but instead called Dolan a "consummate New Yorker" who received "an unkind email and responded with an unkind email". On February 9, 2017, former Knicks player Charles Oakley was engaged in a yelling match with Dolan at Madison Square Garden during a Knicks–Clippers game and removed following an altercation with MSG security. Oakley contends that Dolan has ignored, if not ostracized, him. On March 11, 2019, prompted by a similar incident two days earlier with a fan, Oakley remarked that Dolan tries to bully everyone because he has money and power, stating there was very little reason for reconciliation with him after the incident. In March 2019, Dolan threatened a ban towards a fan at Madison Square Garden after he yelled "sell the team" at Dolan. Discussing the situation on TV, ESPN questioned the reasoning behind his reaction and concluded that Commissioner Silver should compel Dolan to apologize to the fan by selling the team. Some fans of the team responded to the outrage by giving away free t-shirts saying "St. Patty Says Ban Dolan" on their March 17 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, though some of the shirts got confiscated by security before fans entered the arena. In March 2021, Dolan had a fan removed from a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden for wearing a t-shirt reading, "Ban Dolan" in protest of Dolan's management of the organization and treatment of retired Knicks players. New York Rangers After winning the Stanley Cup in 1994, the Rangers saw a decline in performance in the wake of Dolan's increased role in managing the team and failed