Court orders telephone mediation session between Oakley, Dolan

Former New York Knicks star Charles Oakley and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan are going to have to talk to each other.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ordered the two men and their respective legal counsels to engage in a telephone mediation session on March 31, according to documents obtained by attorney and legal analyst Daniel Wallach.

The mediation order comes after Oakley appealed a previous ruling which dismissed his lawsuit against Dolan. The lawsuit claimed defamation, assault, and false imprisonment against Dolan over Oakley's 2017 ejection from Madison Square Garden and subsequent arrest. The longtime Knicks fan favorite has been banned from the arena since.

A joint attempt by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Oakley's onetime teammate Michael Jordan to facilitate mediation between the two sides in 2017 was not successful.