The chief executive of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation has doubled down on using facial recognition at its venues to prevent lawyers suing the group from attending events.
Speaking to Fox 5 on Thursday, the company’s executive chairman and CEO, James Dolan, said that Madison Square Garden is a private company and therefore has the right to determine who is allowed into its venues.
“At Madison Square Garden, if you’re suing us, we’re just asking you – please don’t come until you’ve finished your discussion with us,” he said. “And yes, we are using facial recognition to reinforce that.”
His comments come after New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sent a letter to Madison Square Garden Entertainment requesting information about the use of facial recognition technology to prohibit legitimate ticket holders from entering venues. .
The letter said the attorney general’s office had reviewed reports that the company used facial recognition to identify and deny entry to several attorneys affiliated with law firms involved in ongoing litigation with the company.
The letter indicated that thousands of lawyers from around 90 law firms may have been affected by the policy and said the ban included those who hold season tickets.
The attorney general’s letter raised concerns that barring individuals from accessing the venues due to ongoing litigation may violate local, state and federal human rights laws, including laws prohibiting retaliation. The letter also questions whether the facial recognition software used by Madison Square Garden Entertainment is reliable and what safeguards are in place to prevent bias and discrimination.
In a press release, James said, “MSG Entertainment cannot fight its legal battles in its own arenas. Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues and must treat all customers who have purchased tickets with fairness and respect. Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned about being unfairly denied entry based on their appearance, and we urge MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”
MSG Entertainment owns and operates multiple locations in New York, including Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Hulu Theater and Beacon Theater. Madison Square Garden is home to the New York Knicks, Rangers, professional boxing and college basketball.
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for Madison Square Garden told CNN : “To be clear, our policy does not illegally prohibit anyone from entering our premises and it is not our intention to dissuade attorneys from representing plaintiffs in litigation against us. We are only excluding a small percentage of attorneys only during active litigation.”
“More importantly,” added the spokesperson, “to even suggest that someone is being excluded based on the protected classes identified in state and federal civil rights laws is ridiculous. Our policy has never applied to attorneys representing plaintiffs alleging sexual harassment or employment discrimination.”
In the Fox 5 interview on Thursday, Dolan said that when the attorneys suing Madison Square Garden finish their litigation, they will be welcomed back to the venues.
“If your neighbor sues you, if somebody sues you, right, that’s confrontation. It’s contradictory and that’s okay, people can sue,” he said. “But at the same time, if you are being sued, you don’t need to receive the person at your house, right?”.
Dolan has defended the use of facial recognition technology, saying it is helpful for security and noting that he believes Madison Square Garden is one of the safest places in the country.
“Basically, whenever you go out in public, you’re on camera,” he said. “Believe me, you walk down the street, you are being filmed by camera, you are on 10 cameras. What facial recognition does is look, it recognizes your face, and it says you’re someone on this list.”
Dolan claimed that the State Liquor Authority threatened the Madison Square Garden license over its use of facial recognition technology. The State Liquor Authority of New York told the CNN which issued a “letter of advice” to Madison Square Garden after receiving a complaint in mid-November about attorneys involved in litigation against the company being denied entry to its premises.
“After receiving a complaint, the State Liquor Authority followed standard procedure and issued a letter of recommendation explaining this company’s obligation to keep its facilities open to the public as required by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act,” said Joshua Heller, port spokesperson for the State Liquor Authority, CNN .
The State Liquor Authority told the CNN that an investigation into the matter is “ongoing”.
During the Fox interview, Dolan apparently threatened to close liquor sales during an unspecified upcoming New York Rangers game and said he would refer any upset customers to the liquor authority to complain.
Dolan also rejected the suggestion that he was being “too sensitive”.
“The Garden has to defend itself,” Dolan said. “If you sue us, right, you know we’ll tell you not to come.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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