For the first time in twenty-seven years, the New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals, and the vibes are immaculate. They have one of the most likable rosters in the league. Knicks supporters — some of the most passionate in all of sports — have electrified the NBA’s content economy with on-the-street antics and unforgettable catchphrases (“My mayor Muslim / My bagels Jewish / My Christian Dior / Knicks in four”). Even their matchup, the San Antonio Spurs, largely fits the ideal of “ethical” basketball. It’s a great time to watch the league. It’s the greatest time to be a Knicks fan, with one major caveat: the man at the top.

The New York Knicks are majority-owned by Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (MSGS), under the day-to-day control of billionaire CEO and Executive Chairman James Dolan, who inherited the franchise from his father in 1999. The Dolan-era Knicks — a team whose valuation has only grown year over year to become one of the ten most valuable sports franchises — have been middling at best and catastrophically bad at worst. This current finals berth is an outlier. Chants of “Sell the team” have been ubiquitous for decades.

Dolan himself is far from just an incompetent executive. He’s alleged to have covered up sexual misconduct within his organization and faced allegations of sexual misconduct himself. His surveillance apparatus has stalked fans and political enemies alike. A long-standing friendship with Donald Trump has single-handedly harshed the vibe for home games, especially in game three at MSG, to say nothing of how he’s squeezed fans. The Knicks are the league’s most expensive ticket, and, at the time of writing, nosebleed seats for the finals start in the $7,000 range.

There’s no reason that the Knicks, one of sports’ most storied franchises and a major driver of the city’s identity and economics, should be owned by anything but the public itself.

For the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, our upcoming print issue examines the past and future of American democracy.

While the rebellion of 1776 expressed Enlightenment principles of liberty and equality, the democratic experiment it sparked remains woefully incomplete. Today, the United States is far less democratic than patriotic mythology suggests.

In this issue, we evaluate the institutions that limit democracy, from the Senate and the Electoral College to our federalist system and the Constitution itself, a document that functions as a “charter for plutocracy.” But we also chronicle the strands of the American tradition that inspire ongoing struggle. We highlight the often overlooked radical figures of the American revolution, review the tragically unrealized potential of Reconstruction, arguably the country’s true democratic foundation, and much more.

This issue is more than 150 pages of must-read writing and beautiful design, so subscribe today at a discount to get your copy directly from the printer.

In the midst of Graham Platner’s high-profile Senate race in Maine, several media commentators jumped on whether he would fit within his own definition of the working class. Do we know how to pick out workers from other classes? And what bearing does this have for socialist politics?

On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek offer a full definition of who’s in the working class, how to understand the modern US class structure, and why workers are central to left political strategy.

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