His client is New York policeman who was injured during a private security concert in Madison Square Garden. He sued Garden on behalf of the soldiers.
Now John Scola, an attorney best known for representing local police officers, has been banned from the high-profile arena along with several others owned by the notorious James Dolan.
Over the years, Dolan openly removed all law firms from his premises if a single attorney was in any kind of legal dispute with the Gardens; the ban would be enforced by Dolan’s increasingly sophisticated facial recognition system. What was not entirely clear was whether Madison Square Garden was continuing to expand its legal blacklist. A letter to Scola, dated April 30 and reviewed by WIRED, recommended that the exercise continue. “Any tickets for the MSG venues,” the letter reads, “have been cancelled.”
The ban also highlights a rift in the multi-layered relationship between New York City’s public servants and its exclusive arena. As WIRED reported last month, MSG security operated as an unauthorized second surveillance force in midtown Manhattan—without the official approval of the New York Police Department. (NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani called this expansion “beyond the Garden Walls”very disturbing,” and promises further investigation.)
Dolan says that the biometric screening system is there to prevent dangerous actors from entering his property—”if you’re a terrorist, (the list) will say that’s a terrorist,” he once told the local Fox network—but the NYPD has not shared facial recognition or any other type of data with the Gardens. The Garden, however, added the New York police officer’s photo to the many, many others in its facial recognition database, as WIRED reported. “New Yorkers should be able to go to a game or concert without their rights being violated,” said New York attorney general Letitia James. he told them Pablo Torre Discovers podcast in the statement. “My office is closely reviewing the latest report on the methods of the Madison Square Garden investigation.”
On the other hand, Gardens employs NYPD officers, through the city paid information planincrease its security forces. That’s what happened in February 2025, when a lightweight boxing match was taking place at MSG’s Hulu Theater. The audience was likely to be large and “required(e) complete crowd control,” according to the lawsuit, so The Garden brass figured they would need eight off-duty cops to help. “Despite that decision,” the lawsuit claims, “only two officers were present.” One of them was a seven-year NYPD veteran John Przybyszewski.
At some point, a scene broke out near the ringside. Rapper Lil Tjay appeared spit in the face of a Garden security employee who seemed to be trying to prevent him from moving near the ring. Videos of the night show a chaotic scene. Lil Tjay’s bodyguards and his entourage joined the fray. According to the lawsuit, Przybyszewski claims he was knocked to the ground, pinned under several people.
Przybyszewski claims that when he woke up, he was in “excruciating pain,” and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. According to the lawsuit, “scanning images revealed extensive cervical and lumbar spine injuries,” some of them “permanent.”
Przybyszewski blamed the rapper and Garden officials. He sued Lil Tjay and Madison Square Garden. For a lawyer, he tapped Scola, who regularly represents NYPD officers in disputes with their superiors and the city. Scola filed his lawsuit in February this year. “Defendants made operational decisions that directly placed Defendant in harm’s way. Those decisions caused his injuries,” the lawsuit alleges.
