Madison Square Garden Bars Lawyer Representing New York Cop Injured in Boxing Match

his client is a New York police officer who was injured during an undercover operation at Madison Square Garden. He sued Munda on behalf of the officer.

Now John Scola, a well-known attorney representing the local police, has been barred from court and several others by James Dolan, who was known to rule.

For years, Dolan publicly excluded all law firms from his area if a single lawyer was in any kind of conflict with Field; the prohibitions could be complied with Dolan is the most popular facial recognition technology. What wasn’t clear was whether Madison Square Garden would continue to expand its lineup. The letter to Scola, dated April 30 and reviewed by WIRED, said the practice continues. “Any tickets to MSG Venues,” the letter said, “have been cancelled.”

The ban also reflects the strained inter-class relations between New York City’s public sector workers and its public squares. As WIRED reported last month, MSG security operated as a second, unofficial unit in the middle of Manhattan — without the permission of the New York Police Department. (NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani called this spread beyond the Garden’s walls “very difficult,” and promised further investigation.)

Dolan says a biometric surveillance system is in place to prevent actors from entering its premises — “if you’re a criminal, (the list) says you’re a criminal,” he told the Fox affiliate — but the NYPD has not shared facial recognition or any other type of data with Field. Garden added the New York police photo to many, many others in its facial recognition database, as WIRED reported. “New Yorkers should be able to go to a play or concert without having their rights violated,” said New York attorney general Letitia James. told a Pablo Torre Knows podcast in a sentence. “My office is looking closely at recent reports about Madison Square Garden’s surveillance systems.”

On the other hand, Munda hires NYPD officers, through the city detailed payment planto increase his security. This is what happened in February 2025, when a lightweight boxing match was being held at MSG’s Hulu Theater. The audience must be large and they “need(e) to control the crowd,” according to the lawsuit, so the Garden brass decided they would need eight off-duty police officers to help them. “Despite that determination,” the lawsuit says, “only two officers were present.” One of them was a seven-year veteran of the NYPD John Przybyszewski.

At one point, a scene erupted near ringside. Rapper Lil Tjay looked like spitting in the face of a security guard at the Garden who seems to be trying to prevent him from approaching the ring. Late night shows show chaos. Lil Tjay’s bodyguards and his crew joined the fray. According to the lawsuit, Przybyszewski was allegedly pushed to the ground, pinned under several people.

Przybyszewski said that when he woke up, “he felt terrible pain,” and he was sent to the hospital by ambulance. According to the lawsuit, “an autopsy revealed extensive cervical and lumbar injuries,” some of which were “permanent.”

Przybyszewski criticized the rapper and Garden officials. He sued Lil Tjay and Madison Square Garden. For a lawyer, he hired Scola, who often represents NYPD officers in disputes with their bosses and the city. Scola filed his lawsuit in February of this year. “The Defendants made decisions that directly put the Plaintiff at risk. Those decisions caused her harm,” the lawsuit said.