These are painful times to be a Knicks fan. How did a once-great team fall into the basement of the NBA and become a national laughingstock?

It's a question people have been asking for a long time. Although we can't speak to all of the Knicks' celebrity fans (Spike Lee where are you now?), one well-known fan of the Knicks is giving up on his season tickets.

Tom Brokaw.

The ex-NBC anchorman blasted the Knicks in an interview with XM's Jim Gray that was picked up by Newsday:

Brokaw: "The NBA, as you know I am a big fan of the NBA... or have been. I am not very happy with it at the moment. I think that they have lost their way."

Gray: "Why not... What bothers you?"

Brokaw:""What bothers me is that a lot of the deportment is inappropriate. You know, off the court, and I think that just four or five exceptions they are not being what they ought to be to the country."

Gray: "And you have such a large voice, I'm wondering if you have spoken to the commissioner or team officials."

Brokaw: "No... He certainly knows how I feel about 'he Knicks... and their ownership. As a season ticket holder for a long time, I won't renew because I don't like the attitude that that ownership has brought to the community."

Gray: "And you have been in the front row or close to it for a long time."

Brokaw: "I was in the front row for a while and then three rows back but not next year. I just think that they have failed their obligation to the city. I think that we have great sports franchises in New York. I think Fred Wilpon of the Mets and George Steinbrenner of the Yankees measure up and they bring to the community winning teams as best they can and make real statements about being supportive of the community. I don't think that the Dolans have done that and I think the Garden has lost a lot of its luster as a result of their ownership and this is the first time that I have really said that out loud. But I feel very strongly about it and I think that it's the least we can expect. They get these huge prices for people to sit in those seats, all kinds of tax advantages to owning the Garden and yet they operate as if they were a sovereign country and want to play only by their own rules. So I'm not very happy about that."

There's more over at the New York Times' Lede blog. "Sovereign country." Ouch.