Seasons greetings to you all! And hat tip to two readers who sent word of this update on a story that captured my eye and attention previously.

It — the tale of MSG blocked any lawyer working on opposing matters from rock concerts and sporting events in its venue due to “conflicts” rules — keeps getting more interesting: “Face Recognition Tech Gets Girl Scout Mom Booted From Rockettes Show — Due to Where She Works” —

• “A recent incident at Radio City Music Hall involving the mother of a Girl Scout is shedding light on the growing controversy of facial recognition, as critics claim it is being used to target perceived enemies — in this case, by one of the most famous companies in the country.”
• “Kelly Conlon and her daughter came to New York City the weekend after Thanksgiving as part of a Girl Scout field trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas Spectacular show. But while her daughter, other members of the Girl Scout troop and their mothers got to go enjoy the show, Conlon wasn’t allowed to do so.”
• “That’s because to Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Conlon isn’t just any mom. They had identified and zeroed in on her, as security guards approached her right as he got into the lobby.”
• “‘It was pretty simultaneous, I think, to me, going through the metal detector, that I heard over an intercom or loudspeaker,’ she told NBC New York. ‘I heard them say woman with long dark hair and a grey scarf.'”
• “A sign says facial recognition is used as a security measure to ensure safety for guests and employees. Conlon says she posed no threat, but the guards still kicked her out with the explanation that they knew she was an attorney.”
• “‘They knew my name before I told them. They knew the firm I was associated with before I told them. And they told me I was not allowed to be there,’ said Conlon.”
• “Conlon is an associate with the New Jersey based law firm, Davis, Saperstein and Solomon, which for years has been involved in personal injury litigation against a restaurant venue now under the umbrella of MSG Entertainment.”
• “‘I don’t practice in New York. I’m not an attorney that works on any cases against MSG,’ said Conlon.”
• “‘MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved. While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adverse environment. All impacted attorneys were notified of the policy, including Davis, Saperstein and Salomon, which was notified twice,’ a spokesperson for MSG Entertainment said in a statement.”
• “‘This whole scheme is a pretext for doing collective punishment on adversaries who would dare sue MSG in their multi-billion dollar network,’ said Sam Davis, a partner at the firm where Conlon works.”
• “Other firms have sued over being blacklisted. Conlon said she thought a recent judge’s order in one of those cases made it clear that ticketholders like her ‘may not be denied entry to any shows.'”
• “MSG stated that “In this particular situation, only the one attorney who chose to attend was denied entry, and the rest of of her group — including the Girl Scouts — were all able to attend and enjoy the show.'”
• “‘I was just a mom taking my daughter to see a Christmas show,’ Conlon told the I-Team. ‘I did wait outside…It was embarrassing, it was mortifying.'”

[But the twists continue! Increasing the airing of grievances and likelihood of feats of strength, this Festivus season]:

• “Davis is now upping the legal ante, challenging MSG’s license with the State Liquor Authority.”
• “‘The liquor license that MSG got requires them to admit members of the public, unless there are people who would be disruptive who constitute a security threat,’ said Davis. ‘Taking a mother, separating a mother from her daughter and Girl Scouts she was watching over — and to do it under the pretext of protecting any disclosure of litigation information — is absolutely absurd. The fact they’re using facial recognition to do this is frightening. It’s un-American to do this.'”

For those looking to pull a bit more on this thread: “Madison Square Garden Could Lose Liquor License After Billionaire CEO’s Discriminatory Ban on Lawyers” —

• “The New York State Liquor Authority has released a statement indicating that the Dolan company’s unique lawyer ban could lead to Madison Square Garden (MSG) losing its liquor license.”
• “The statement from the liquor authority said, ‘as a condition of your [liquor] license your premises must remain open to the public.’ It continued, ‘groups or individuals cannot be excluded on the basis of criteria that are not directly related to your duties under your license.’ Violations of this principle could result in “disciplinary action against your license.'”
• “According to Forbes, there have been reports of individuals being denied entry for months at MSG, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theater and the Chicago Theater. These are all popular venues for NBA and NHL games along with famous shows like the Rockettes.”

“And what’s the deal with facial recognition today? Nothing spooky about any of this, no siree! Can we add AI to the story somehow next?” — “Lawyer suing MSG for banning him got to see Jerry Seinfeld — by disguising himself” —

• “A lawyer who’s suing Madison Square Garden for barring him from entering the venues it owns got to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon Theater — by disguising himself with a scruffy beard and a baseball cap, he told The Post.”
• “‘I grew the beard to try and fool the facial recognition and wore a baseball cap as well. I was not stopped,’ said Greenberg, of Greenberg Law P.S. — which was banned due to a pending case centering on a Rangers fan who was sucker punched at a game.”
• “His facial hair may have prevented him from getting booted — but not everybody was a fan of his new disheveled look, he said. ‘My wife said [the beard] ends today, after the hearing.'”
• “Lawyers linked to pending cases against MSG entertainment have been kicked out of MSG-own venues in recent weeks.”
• “They include attorney Kelly Conlon, who was flagged by facial recognition and booted from a Rockettes show at Radio City on Nov. 27, and Long Island attorney Alexis Majano who was kicked out of a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5.”