While fans flock to Madison Square Garden for live events, it seems the arena also operates a high-level surveillance system that monitors its attendees.
According to a new report from Wired, James Dolan, the executive chairman of MSG Entertainment, has facial-recognition and biometric-monitoring systems at MSG—as well as at Radio City Music Hall and the Sphere in Las Vegas—which he uses to track specific people.
Dolan has reportedly kept internal watch lists on individuals. MSG has previously denied entry to a graphic designer who created anti-Dolan t-shirts and a law firm after one of its employees bothered Dolan, signaling that the way Dolan targets people goes beyond typical safety concerns.
An extremely detailed example of a person who was tracked at MSG is Nina Richard, a pseudonym for a transgender woman whose name was changed in Wired’s report. Over the course of two years, MSG surveilled her, and on one occasion, during a New York Knicks game in January 2022, MSG’s Threat Management Group logged her movements in an 18-page report.
“She wasn’t trying to go places she shouldn’t be,” a source said of Richard. “This is just a very large transgender woman, being a fan, walking around.”
Per a lawsuit filed by former security staffer Donnie Ingrasselino, security chief John Eversole became obsessed with her, continuing to single her out, misgender her, and encouraging staff to watch her. The lawsuit says that Richard was eventually banned from MSG based on a false stalking allegation. Ingrasselino also claimed that individuals, even those with criminal histories, didn’t prompt this level of scrutiny.
MSG responded to Wired’s report.
“This story is built on false, misleading, and unverified allegations, including claims drawn from lawsuits filed by rapacious litigators,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We categorically reject such reckless reporting and are actively evaluating our legal options against Wired.”
