Adam Silver won't punish Knicks owner James Dolan for angry email

Maligned New York Knicks owner James Dolan won't face punishment from the NBA for a cruel email he sent last week in response to a longtime Knicks fan named Irving Bierman, the New York Post's Tim Bontemps reports.

"Jim is a consummate New Yorker," commissioner Adam Silver said Monday, an association that might leave a few million people feeling cold.

In just over a year as league commissioner, Silver has built a reputation as a strong, tough leader unafraid to crack down when owners step out of line. Apparently, this instance didn't qualify.

"Jim got an unkind email and responded with an unkind email," Silver said.

Here's a snippet from the email Dolan's sent:

In fact ill bet you are negative force in everyone who comes in contact with you. You most likely have made your family miserable. Alcoholic maybe. I just celebrated my 21 year anniversary of sobriety. You should try it. Maybe it will help you become a person that folks would like to have around.

Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, who had his own unpleasant fan interaction last season, expressed some sympathy for his franchise's CEO, but also implied that Dolan should know better.

"For me, I would never respond, I wouldn’t go down that path," Anthony told The Post's Marc Berman, though he conceded, "We all have those moments."