Madison Square Garden’s surveillance system banned this fan over his T-shirt design

A performance connected Monday nighttime astatine New York’s Radio City Music Hall was a peculiar juncture for Frank Miller: his parents’ wedding anniversary. He didn’t extremity up seeing the amusement — and earlier helium could adjacent get past security, helium was informed that helium was successful information banned for beingness from the venue and each different properties owned by Madison Square Garden (MSG).

After scanning his summons and promptly being pulled speech by security, Miller was told by unit that helium was barred from the MSG properties for an incidental astatine the Garden successful 2021. But Miller says helium hasn’t been to the venue successful astir a decade.

“They manus maine a portion of insubstantial letting maine cognize that I’ve been added to a prohibition list,” Miller says. “There’s a trespass announcement if I ever amusement up connected immoderate MSG spot ever again,” which includes venues similar Radio City, the Beacon Theatre, the Sphere, and the Chicago Theatre.

He was baffled astatine first. Then it dawned connected him: this was astir apt astir a T-shirt helium designed years ago. MSG Entertainment won’t accidental what happened with Miller oregon however helium was picked retired of the crowd, but helium suspects helium was identified via arguable facial designation systems that the institution deploys astatine its venues.

In 2017, 1990s New York Knicks prima Charles Oakley was forcibly removed from his spot adjacent Knicks proprietor and Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan. The high-profile incidental aboriginal spiraled into an ongoing ineligible battle. For Miller, Oakley was an “integral” portion of the ’90s Knicks, helium says. With his inheritance successful graphic design, helium made a garment successful the benignant of the aged squad logo that read, “Ban Dolan” — a notation to the infamous scuffle.

A fewer years later, successful 2021, a person of Miller’s wore a Ban Dolan garment to a Knicks crippled and was kicked retired and banned from aboriginal events. That incidental spawned ESPN segments and news articles and validated what galore fans saw arsenic a pettiness connected Dolan and MSG’s portion for going aft idiosyncratic fans who criticized squad ownership.

But this week, Miller wasn’t wearing a Ban Dolan shirt; helium wasn’t adjacent astatine a Knicks game. His person who was kicked retired for the garment tagged him successful societal media posts arsenic the decorator erstwhile it happened, but Miller, who lives successful Seattle, hadn’t attended an lawsuit successful New York successful years.

Miller says that aft helium scanned his integer ticket, but earlier helium went done security, a idiosyncratic moving astatine Radio City stopped the line, pulled him aside, and asked him for his ID to verify who helium was. They past walked him to different entranceway of the building, wherever 5 oregon much unit members stood with him arsenic helium was told helium was not allowed to return.

He’s not definite however precisely MSG connected him to the garment oregon a 2021 incidental during an lawsuit helium wasn’t at. Miller told The Verge that until the concert, helium had ne'er really purchased tickets to MSG events — they were either gifts from different people, oregon helium got them done work.

“I’ve been speechmaking articles astir this facial designation worldly that Dolan [and] MSG properties use, but I hadn’t been successful oregon astir the Garden extracurricular of Penn Station to instrumentality New Jersey Transit [to] Newark Airport successful astir 20 years now,” Miller says. A person who was contiguous made definite his parents enjoyed the amusement portion Miller hung retired astatine a barroom nearby. He did not get a refund for his ticket, helium says.

“I conscionable recovered it comical, until I was told that my ma was crying [in the lobby],” Miller says of the experience. “I was like, ‘Oh man, I ruined their day with my crap speech connected the internet. Memes are powerful, and truthful is the surveillance state.” Miller and his parents besides had tickets to a Knicks crippled the pursuing night; his parents went without him, with a household person successful his place. Miller dropped his parents disconnected from crossed the street.

MSG Entertainment did not respond to The Verge’s questions astir whether facial designation was utilized to place Miller.

“Frank Miller Jr. made threats against an MSG enforcement connected societal media and produced and sold merchandise that was violative successful nature,” Mikyl Cordova, enforcement vice president of communications and selling for the company, said successful an emailed statement. “His behaviour was disrespectful and disruptive and successful usurpation of our codification of conduct.”

Keeping adjacent ticker connected patrons is thing caller for MSG. In 2022, a New Jersey lawyer was denied introduction to Radio City Music Hall during a Girl Scout unit trip. Her infraction was being connected an “attorney exclusion list” afloat of radical who enactment astatine firms that are suing MSG. The lawyer was identified utilizing facial designation exertion astatine the venue.

Miller says helium was told astatine Radio City that helium could entreaty the prohibition if helium wanted to but said it’s not a precedence for him. He hopes his acquisition tin assistance others who find themselves successful a akin situation, wherever they’re unexpectedly denied introduction astatine an costly lawsuit based connected information astir them that has been collected by the company.

“It’s thing that we each person to beryllium alert of — the panopticon,” Miller says. “We’re [being] surveilled astatine each times, and it’s ever framed arsenic a information thing, erstwhile seldom is that the case. It’s much of a deterrent and a fearfulness maneuver to effort to support radical successful line.”

Update March 28th: Added remark from MSG Entertainment spokesperson Mikyl Cordova.