Stephen A. Smith Calls Knicks Owner James Dolan a 'National Embarrassment'

Stephen A. Smith was in rare form on Thursday, ripping into a favorite target and knocking it out of the part on ESPN's First Take. Smith went off on New York Knicks owner James Dolan in another A+ rant. His repeated screeds against Dolan have become must-watch TV.

This time, Stephen A. is furious about Dolan kicking a fan out of Madison Square Garden this week for wearing a "Ban Dolan" t-shirt. The move made headlines and has distracted from the solid season the Knicks are having.

Here's what he had to say:

Any Stephen A. rant that starts off, "I'm so disgusted I don't even know where to begin..." is going to be great. Especially when it's followed by, "Thank God we don't have much time, because I'm scared of what I would say today."

For some background, on Tuesday night Dolan reportedly had a fan kicked out of the Knicks-Wizards game for wearing a "Ban Dolan" shirt. The fan took to Twitter to complain about it, posting a video of his encounter with security and a picture of his shirt.

Over the years, Dolan has repeatedly banned fans who spoke out against his ownership and might have the thinnest skin in sports.

Stephen A. is furious about the incident because, as a Knicks fan, he believes it's taking away from what's happening on the court. New York is actually pretty good this year and is a fun little success story. Without big names, the Knicks are right in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff chance, currently sitting in sixth place. This is great news in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but instead of just staying out of the way, Dolan continues to do idiotic things that wind up as headlines.

I get why Smith is upset and, frankly, every Knicks fan should be.