Knicks owner James Dolan argues with fan outside Madison Square Garden

New York Knicks owner James Dolan admitted, actually almost boasted, about an altercation with a fan earlier this week.

“I did call him an (expletive) because he is an (expletive),” Dolan told Deadspin when it inquired.

The confrontation began when Dolan walked by Mike Hamersky, a 35-year-old attorney, and his friend before the Knicks played the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

“Sell the team, Jim!” Hamersky shouted (per Deadspin).

Dolan, who had been headed toward his limo, circled back and asked who yelled at him. That’s when Deadspin reported that Dolan got in Hamersky's face and began ranting.

Hamersky said that Dolan asked what he did for a living, and when he told him he was a lawyer, Dolan said, “What if I showed up at your office and called you an (expletive)? Because you are an (expletive)!”

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Dolan accused Hamersky of being intoxicated, which the fan denied. Dolan, a recovering alcoholic, two years ago suggested that a 72-year-old fan who didn’t drink, Irving Bierman, had an alcohol problem. Dolan did the same with former Knicks player Charles Oakley, who was dragged out by security earlier this season as part of a very public spat with Dolan.

“I get it. They call me names every day in the paper. Fine. I get it,” Dolan told Deadspin. “But you’re walking up to the place where I work? It’s like they’re laying in wait for you. It’s like stalking me outside my home. Some people tend to think of team owners like politicians. But we’re not! I didn’t run for any office. These people who yell at you act surprised when you yell back. It’s like when I got that incredibly derogatory email, and so I wrote back an incredibly derogatory email, and these people are surprised?”

Hamersky managed to dodge Dolan’s security guard and get into the game. He told Deadspin that he remains a Knicks fan and wants to keep coming to the Garden, something Oakley has refused to do now.

Contributing: Steve Popper of The Record.