Fans plan Parade to 'FIRE ISIAH'

[Pistons < Spurs]

Fired by the fans?
Knicks fans plan to give Isiah a giant pink slip



New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas could get a giant pink slip -- from fans.

Fans who want Thomas gone from the basketball team plan to march through the streets surrounding Madison Square Garden on Wednesday carrying a huge pink slip.

Thomas has been hounded by bad publicity and calls from fans to quit since October when a former team executive won a sexual harassment lawsuit against the coach and Madison Square Garden.

A three-week trial leading up to the verdict left a crude image of a storied franchise brought low by bullying officials and a player, Stephon Marbury, with an tawdry pick-up line used to seduce an intern into his sport utility vehicle.

The 7-and-17 Knicks play Clevelend Wednesday.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/12/19/bc.bkn.isiahthomas.pink.ap/index.html

[MaNuMaNiAc]

The dude is completely fucking up his legacy.

[JamStone]

The dude is completely fucking up his legacy.


What legacy? His coaching/management legacy was nothing before this. His legacy as a player is not affected by any of this.

Love Isiah but he should have been fired last year. Almost feels like Dolan is punishing Isiah by NOT firing him.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

What legacy? His coaching/management legacy was nothing before this. His legacy as a player is not affected by any of this.

Love Isiah but he should have been fired last year. Almost feels like Dolan is punishing Isiah by NOT firing him.It will affect the way people remember him. When was the last time a coach got a "FIRE HIM NOW!" parade?? :lol

[JamStone]

It will affect the way people remember him. When was the last time a coach got a "FIRE HIM NOW!" parade?? :lol

Not it won't.

If he stepped down before that "Fire Him" parade ever happened, he'd be remembered the same way, as a failing general manager and unable to inspire a team filled with some talented but incompatible parts.

He's not fucking up his legacy. As a GM and coach, it has long been determined that he has a poor legacy.

His legacy as a player is great, and none of this changes that.

[BacktoBasics]

How the fuck does this guy still have a job. His pussy must be made of fucking Rib-eyes and gold.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

:lol He went off on his team after they got beat by the Pacers and talked about how some changes need to be made...to the team he assembled.

He questioned their heart, and compared the embarrassment of getting their asses kicked to his childhood experience of standing in line at a soup kitchen.

Usually I can't stand the stupid media circus drama around teams a la Kobe and the Lakers, but I really can't see myself getting tired of watching the Knicks perpetually circling the drain. It will be a sad day when they finally can Zeke.

[OldDirtMcGirt]

:lol He went off on his team after they got beat by the Pacers and talked about how some changes need to be made...to the team he assembled.

He questioned their heart, and compared the embarrassment of getting their asses kicked to his childhood experience of standing in line at a soup kitchen.

Usually I can't stand the stupid media circus drama around teams a la Kobe and the Lakers, but I really can't see myself getting tired of watching the Knicks perpetually circling the drain. It will be a sad day when they finally can Zeke.

It's especially great when you go back to before the season and listen to guys like Stephen A. praising the Zach Randolph trade. At least this has finally proved what a shitty teammate Z-Bo is. He's basically the definition of meaningless stats.

However, I think that the whole Knicks situation would've been infinitely funnier if they actually went through and traded for Artest. Talk about hilarious, that's a reality TV show waiting to happen.

[JamStone]

They should still go after Artest. Guaranteed hit reality TV show for E! or ESPN or MTV.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

They should still go after Artest. Guaranteed hit reality TV show for E! or ESPN or MTV.
Don't forget Court TV. Hell, the catchy title practically writes itself.

[sprrs]

Not it won't.

If he stepped down before that "Fire Him" parade ever happened, he'd be remembered the same way, as a failing general manager and unable to inspire a team filled with some talented but incompatible parts.

He's not fucking up his legacy. As a GM and coach, it has long been determined that he has a poor legacy.

His legacy as a player is great, and none of this changes that.

But do you think his career as a player will be overshadowed by his career as a GM/coach?

[Pistons < Spurs]

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/1219/nba_a_pinkslip_600.jpg


NEW YORK -- New York Knicks fans angry over the team's losing streak rallied outside Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, holding aloft a giant pink slip and calling on management to fire coach Isiah Thomas.


Chanting "Fire Isiah! He's got to go! Goodbye!" two dozen irate fans signed the 8-by-4-foot pink placard urging Garden chief executive James Dolan to dump the coach, whose team is 7-17 going into Wednesday night's game with Cleveland.

Among the protesters was noted civil rights lawyer and longtime Knicks fan Norman Siegel, who criticized Knicks management for ordering a fan with a "Fire Isiah" sign to leave his seat at a game Monday night.

"The Knicks are trampling on what New York is all about -- we're outspoken and we're zany at times," said Siegel. "But principles and values of free speech should be adopted. The Garden should rethink its policy."

Thomas has been hounded by bad publicity and calls from fans to quit since October, when fired team executive Anucha Browne Sanders won a sexual harassment lawsuit against the coach and the Garden. Just before the case was to return to court to decide compensatory damages, the lawsuit was settled for $11.5 million.

More calls for Thomas to step down were expected at Wednesday's game, with unhappy fans getting some help from one of the city's tabloids. The Daily News printed a large block letter sign in Wednesday's editions reading "FIRE ISIAH," saying it was meant to be held up during the "next Knicks blowout."

Toward the end of Monday's 119-92 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a disgruntled fan raised a "Fire Isiah" sign and was ordered to leave his seat by a Garden security guard. After the images were captured by news photographers and published in Tuesday's papers, the fan, Jason Silverstein, came forward to identify himself.

"The guy is killing our team," the 23-year-old Manhattan real estate agent told The New York Times. "How many 25-point beatings can we take?"

At Wednesday's rally, signs read "Dump Isiah" and "Restore Knicks Pride."

Thomas "is completely inept, he's a disaster," said protester Scott Francies. "He picked the players. And now, he's blaming them and destroying them. ... What kind of a person is this to represent this glorious city?"

The team has endured a barrage of bad publicity since October, when a jury ruled in favor of Browne Sanders in her sexual harassment lawsuit.

The three-week trial was rife with accounts of crude language and sexual escapades behind the scenes of a storied franchise.

The verdict spared Thomas himself from paying any damages, but amounted to another blemish on the resume of a two-time NBA champion whose post-playing career has been marked by one failure after another.

The Knicks haven't won a playoff game since Thomas joined the team in 2003, and the franchise has wasted millions of dollars this decade on a series of free-agent busts.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3161668

[ducks]

the problem firing him is who will actaully except a job there?

[JamStone]

But do you think his career as a player will be overshadowed by his career as a GM/coach?

That depends who you ask. You'll get a differing responses from Knicks fans than you will from Pistons fans. And, you'll get different responses from younger NBA fans who never watched Isiah play than from fans who actually got a chance to watch him play.

To the objective NBA fan, still tough to answer, but since Isiah as a GM and coach is more recent, the answer might be yes. But, that would be a shame.

[JamStone]

Larry Brown.. must be loving this!!!!!!

Probably. He helped cause it.

[G-Nob]

The only reason Isiah is in the hall of fame is because of his playing days. Everything else he's done in his post-playing career has turned to crap. He's run everything into the ground he's ever touched. He was failed in Toronto, failed in Indiana and he's been failing in NY. He convinced a bunch of millionaires to invest in the CBA and he ran that into the ground. His ego got him in trouble with the league with his quarrels with MJ, acting like a baby when he didnt get picked for the original dream team and when he got involved in that sexual harrassment fiasco. If he wasn't such good friends with the Knicks owner, he'd been out of a job already. The day Zeke is away from basketball will be a better day for the NBA.

[JamStone]

The only reason Isiah is in the hall of fame is because of his playing days. Everything else he's done in his post-playing career has turned to crap. He's run everything into the ground he's ever touched. He was failed in Toronto, failed in Indiana and he's been failing in NY. He convinced a bunch of millionaires to invest in the CBA and he ran that into the ground. His ego got him in trouble with the league with his quarrels with MJ, acting like a baby when he didnt get picked for the original dream team and when he got involved in that sexual harrassment fiasco. If he wasn't such good friends with the Knicks owner, he'd been out of a job already. The day Zeke is away from basketball will be a better day for the NBA.


Agree for the most part. But, he was actually pretty successful at Indiana. And, all the way back to Toronto, he's always been a good judge of talent in terms of drafting players.