$3.1 Billion Franchise Calls Out Knicks’ “Public Relations Stunt”, Amid “Baseless” Legal Battle

While the fans found it difficult to keep up with the trade drams in the off season, there is an off-the-court legal battle to keep track of. The New York Knicks had had a quiet off season as they didn’t make any major trade calls ahead of the new season. Apart from extending Josh Hart’s contract and roping in promising Donte Divincenzo, they haven’t made any notable trades. However, on the legal front, they pulled off an unthinkable move, filing a lawsuit against an NBA franchise. Probably the first time in the history of the league.

However, in response, the Knicks got called out by the defendant. In August, the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Toronto Raptors‘ video coordinator Ikechukwu Azotam and 10 others. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company of Raptors responded to the lawsuit, calling it ‘Baseless’ and ‘Public relation stunt’. Let’s find out more about the lawsuit in detail!

The New York Knicks gets a stern reply

In the late August, the Knicks alleged that Ikechukwu Azotam who formerly worked the NY side for allegedly taking thousands of proprietary files and sharing it with the Raptors. A Bleacher Report article suggested that the filed contained prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting records, and play frequency report. The Knicks filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. The team’s spokesperson said, “we left no choice but to take this action,” in a tweet.

A day after the accusation, MLSE responded stating that it had no interest in acquiring the details of the Knicks and would co-operate for the legal proceeding. Moreover, MLSE said that the lawsuit is “Baseless” and “Public relation stunt” to the judge and asked to dismiss it.

The Raptors further insisted that these kind of affairs should be dealt by the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and not in the court of law. Additionally, they also claimed that the thousands of video which were said to be stolen are publicly available for everyone.

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On the other hand, Raptors owner Masai Ujiri who tried to rope in Damian Lillard in the offseason, had a stern statement. He added, “I think there has been one time in the history of the NBA that a team has sued another team.”

NBA players file lawsuit on the league

While there isn’t source to find an instance where a franchise had filed lawsuit on another, there is an instance of players filing lawsuit against the league. In 2011, NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Steve Nash filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league, reported Seattle Times. 

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What do you make of the Knicks’ lawsuit against the Raptors? Let us know in the comments.