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All Three New York Tabloids Made the Same Joke About the Knicks’ Spike Lee Drama

In Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: A rare trifecta from the New York tabloids, a heartwarming moment for a Vermont basketball player and more.

Dan Gartland

All Three New York Tabloids Made the Same Joke About the Knicks’ Spike Lee Drama
All Three New York Tabloids Made the Same Joke About the Knicks’ Spike Lee Drama /

The Knicks are at it again

Reset the “It’s been ___ days since our last public embarrassment” counter at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have decided it would be a good idea to launch a feud against one of the only people who still supports the team unequivocally. 

After a tiff with Garden security, Spike Lee went on First Take to allege he was being harassed by owner James Dolan and say he wouldn’t go to any more Knicks games this year. The team (at the behest of Dolan himself, no doubt) responded with a strongly worded statement and an image of Lee and Dolan shaking hands.

The crazy part, though, is Lee claiming the team set him up for that photo. 

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If you know the Knicks, you shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. 

You also shouldn’t be surprised that this was perfect fodder for the New York tabloids. The people at the papers live for this kind of drama, especially when it involves an artist like Lee. His filmography presents plenty of opportunities for puns. 

And yet, all three papers used the same Spike film for the basis of their back page pun, and the two biggest publications even went with the exact same headline. 

New York Post

I can’t believe one of them didn’t go for the pun on Lee’s basketball movie, He Got Game. They couldn’t do something like, “HE GOT SHAMED: Spike takes aim at Dolan after security incident”?

It’s fairly rare that all three of the city’s tabloids run the same sports headline, but it’s not unheard of. They all went with “Solder of Fortune” when the Giants landed free agent Nate Solder in 2018 and Mets infielder Wilmer Flores’s on-field tears in 2015 could only have resulted in three “Crying Shame” headlines. In an era where digital publishing makes it possible to switch your headline in seconds when you realize you weren’t first to the idea, it’s always extra fun to wake up in the morning and realize every headline writer in the city was on the same page. 

“Snacks” is an instant legend

The biggest college basketball star of the week is Jackson State manager Thomas “Snacks” Lee, who got to take the floor for the first time and bombed a deep three. 

As great as that clip is, you really have to watch the full video and listen to how much fun the announcers had with Lee’s appearance. 

The game action isn’t the only reason to love Snacks, though. Check out this video of him throwing down a dunk (with a little assistance). 

He also did an interview on the local news where he drained the shot again and said he practices every day shooting from back there. 

The conference even named him its Player of the Week.

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Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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