James Dolan getting sued for focusing too much on music, making too much money

A group on behalf of all MSG shareholders are suing James Dolan over allegations that he is overpaid and spends too much time making music instead of running the business, and although the effort is appreciated, we should probably allow Dolan to continue chasing his musical dreams so he doesn’t start interfering with the Knicks.

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware Chancery Court on March 29, by the Norton C. Willcox Testamentary Trust on behalf of all MSG shareholders, according to the docket. According to reports, including from Pitchfork and Deadspin, the suit says that Dolan gets paid way too much and has a duty to oversee the business instead of jamming out as the lead singer of JD and the Straight Shot, which by the way recently released a new album. Check out the titular single!

According to the lawsuit, JD & the Straight Shot “travels and performs extensively domestically and Internationally,” and the number of shows the band plays each year is on the rise. In 2017, the band performed 50 times in six countries and 41 U.S. cities, up from 32 shows in 2016. This massive musical load means that Dolan “works at MSG only part time,” the suit asserts.

First off, maybe the trauma of having to go through this lawsuit will inspire a great song for JD & the Straight Shot’s seventh album. Secondly, and more importantly, while you can’t knock the attempt to take Dolan down a peg, it might not be the best idea to try and sue him because he isn’t spending enough time tending to what goes on within MSG.

It’s an important summer for the Knicks, what with the upcoming draft lottery and all that precious cap space, so perhaps we should be pushing Dolan to hit the road and go on tour as opposed to accidentally making him get more involved in the front office machinations of the team. Scott Perry and Steve Mills have that covered, we think. Maybe. Who knows. Just let them do their thing! Sorry for screaming.

The lawsuit also takes aim at Dolan’s compensation, which over the last three fiscal years totalled $75.6 million. Wow, that’s almost enough money to buy Knicks season tickets!

“By comparison, MSG’s peer companies paid their CEOs an average of $17 million for the same three-year period,” the lawsuit says, according to reports. “The highest-paid peer CEO received $32.4 million, over $43 million less than James.”

Look, it’d be great if Dolan was the sort of guy who took some of his hefty salary and just straight up handed out cash at Knicks games. In fact, he should seriously start doing that because it would solve the issue of fans being big ol’ meanies towards him in the Garden. Are you really going to yell at Dolan to sell the team if he’s handing you a fat stack of bills?

The truth is that Dolan is the Big Cheese at MSG, and he gets to make a lot of money. Good luck to the shareholders, who certainly deserve to be treated right and could potentially have a case to make when it comes to Dolan’s dereliction of duty, although they are likely facing an uphill battle. Those with large mountains of money have the ability to pay for expensive lawyers, and whatnot.

MSG already issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, saying it “amounts to nothing more than corporate harassment.”

“The company stands by its policies and practices,” MSG said, per reports.

Just another day at the office for those who follow the Knicks.