As the Knicks’ championship celebrations continue, Madison Square Garden Entertainment has been swiftly hit with a lawsuit. This is nothing new for James Dolan, the CEO and Executive Chairman of both MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment. While breach of privacy has been an issue for the company before, this latest crisis affects a staggering 26 million consumers.

The latest issue emerged as the New York Knicks were closing out their 2026 NBA championship victory (their first since 1973). As MSG Entertainment — which runs Madison Square Garden, the Chicago Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and The Beacon Theatre — refused to pay a ransom, the failed negotiation saw the hackers leak approximately 42 gigabytes of sensitive visitor records online.

The breach compromised standard personally identifiable information (PII) like names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and credit scores. Crucially, it also exposed biometric facial recognition data and highly confidential “threat assessment profiles” built by MSG on its attendees.

Multiple consumer class action lawsuits quickly followed (filed around June 16-17, 2026), accusing MSG of gross negligence. The legal filings specifically referenced MSG’s history, arguing the company built a massive, high-risk surveillance system while failing to implement proper cybersecurity defenses to protect the data.

The suit says MSG Entertainment has a “tempestuous history with respect to data privacy,” and that “despite a slew of lawsuits regarding this conduct, as well as consternation from privacy advocates and legislators in New York, the Arena—at the direction of its owner James Dolan—continues to collect biometric information from each visitor.”

“This is an action against defendant MSG for their recidivist disregard for consumer privacy and MSG’s complete and utter failure to properly secure and safeguard personally identifiable information,” reads one lawsuit filed on behalf of New York resident Carlos Avalo, who attended a concert at one of the company’s venues in 2025.

For now, MSG Entertainment and James Dolan have not made any public statement about the data breach.

Other legal trouble for MSG

MSG has been embroiled in an ongoing legal war since 2022 over its policy of using facial recognition technology to blacklist and eject any lawyer working for a firm engaged in active lawsuits against MSG.

The policy repeatedly sparked public outrage when security guards swarmed and removed individuals with no personal involvement in the litigation. One such instance was when a mother was denied entry to a Christmas show with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

Legal challenges have yielded mixed results. While a New York appeals court ultimately upheld MSG’s right as a private business to block lawyers from sporting events, the New York civil rights laws impose heavy penalties on the company ($500 per violation) if it refuses entry to valid ticket holders at theatrical performances and concerts.

The practice prompted formal investigations by New York Attorney General Letitia James, threats from the state liquor authority to revoke the venue’s alcohol licenses, and legislative efforts to ban facial recognition in public venues altogether.

This development comes at a time when the city and the franchise are completely invested in celebrating the championship drought after 53 years.