Madison Square Garden and James Dolan Slammed Over Facial Recognition Tech – OutKick

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Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan is under fire after allegedly using facial recognition technology to remove attendees the boss doesn’t want.

Now New York politicians are going after him.

The most recent example includes a man who was taken out near the ice during a New York Rangers game. Benjamin Pinczewski claims MSG security identified him through high-tech surveillance, came to his headquarters and forced him out.

Her withdrawal came just months after a 44-year-old mother who was part of her daughter’s Girl Scout troupe was at the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular performance and had to be escorted out.

Kelly Corton says she was embarrassingly forced out because she is a lawyer at a firm involved in a lawsuit against a restaurant that is part of MSG properties. Corton said she herself was not part of the lawsuit and could not even practice law in New York. Still, that didn’t stop Dolan security from kicking him out.

Both incidents are part of what some New York politicians and fans think James Dolan is going too far. It appears to be Minority Report meeting Big Brother, thanks to facial recognition technology.

MSG CEO James Dolan reportedly used facial recognition technology to identify the critics. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) BIG BROTHER TECHNOLOGY IS CRITICAL

On Sunday, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman and other elected officials and free speech advocates rallied outside Madison Square Garden to speak out against Dolan’s restrictive AI technology. They argued that Dolan was not using high technology for any reason other than his personal vendettas against those he disliked.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment says it uses facial recognition technology for security purposes to keep its fans safe. Well, we’ve seen through these examples that James Dolan and Madison Square Garden are less concerned about the safety of their fans and more concerned about corporate retaliation,” Hoylman told reporters.

Senator Liz Krueger, who was also present at the protest, agreed with the dangerous precedent set by Dolan’s technology. “If you work for a law firm and you work for a big one, you better start a really long list of places you can never go again. And that’s crazy; there’s no reason for that, Krueger said.

Anyone who has covered the sports media in New York knows Dolan’s thuggish behavior.

He himself has such thin skin that it will make you shiver.

You would think that one of the biggest entertainment conglomerates in the country would be able to act on it and not make things worse that lead to fans being pulled out of Knicks and Rangers games. But that is now wishful thinking.

James Dolan singing during a performance by his band ‘JD & The Straight Shot. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images) SENATORS THREATEN GARDEN TAX EXEMPTION

Last month, a report by NBA reporter Ethan Strauss detailed alleged reports that fans were not only spied on by Dolan’s security henchmen, but actually approached visitors and warned them that they were were watching.

One of those fan “crimes”: He wrote “Selling the team” on the Facebook page of Dolan’s JD & The Straight Shot group. Those three words were enough to allegedly blacklist the garden fan.

Side note: I saw Dolan’s band perform live. They are terrible. But no one wants to say anything to Dolan for obvious reasons. So they just smile and say yes to him like he’s amazing at everything he does – even sing. (Guess I’ll get banned next.)

Madison Square Garden defended its use of the technology, saying there were signs warning people they could be under surveillance when entering the premises. Regarding the prohibition of certain individuals, they added that they have the right to protect themselves during litigation proceedings.

State senators threatened that if MSG did not stop using facial recognition technology, they could lose its liquor license and tax-exempt status.

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