The Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday following five years on the job after the team was bounced from the NBA Eastern Conference finals last weekend, but that’s not the only controversy brewing in New York.

Legendary Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley, 61, had harsh words for his ex-teammate and NBA Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, 62, when asked what could be done to get Oakley back inside Madison Square Garden where he’s been banned for eight years.

Patrick Ewing Jr., 41, caught wind of the assassination of his dad’s character and responded to the Knicks’ old enforcer last weekend.

But first, here’s why Oakley is mad: Oakley was famously ejected from the Garden in 2017 on owner James Dolan’s watch and then filed a lawsuit against Dolan and the Garden. The New York Post recently reported that Oakley would be welcomed back into the Knicks family if he dropped the lawsuit.

While the future will show how Oakley responds, the retired NBA veteran had hoped for support from his longtime teammate.

“He should have called me and talked to me like a man when this happened. Never done that,” Oakley said of Ewing. “I had Reggie Miller, Brad Doherty, MJ [Michael Jordan], all the other guys I went to war with, they spoke up, but guys I played with…I guess it goes with [Ewing’s] style of life. He’s never been a guy who really when we were down and out in the situation on the court (during) a playoff game … (he) never stepped up.

“So maybe I shouldn’t expect him to step up so much now and that’s what’s wrong with a lot of these guys. Use your voice. Don’t let the dollar control you, you control the narrative.”

Despite Oakley’s vitriol, Ewing is not obligated to enter another man’s quarrel. Maybe Ewing could have done more to support his old teammate, but Oakley is misplacing his anger, some of which should go to himself.

Despite Oakley’s savage diss of his dad, Ewing Jr. took the high road. Following a stream of crying-laughing emojis, he responded on Instagram: “All that aside, Unc(le) is definitely supposed to be at the games. The Garden misses Oak. I’ll leave it at that.”

NJ Advance Media reporter Adam Zagoria contributed to this report.

Todderick Hunt covers Sports and Culture and Recruiting. Have a story idea or a tip? He can be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com.