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The Knicks sent a cease-and-desist letter to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, 34, ran an ad during the Knicks season opener Wednesday night that featured the team logo that said “Zohran” instead of “Knicks.”
A spokesperson for the team confirmed to Front Office Sports that the team sent Mamdani the cease-and-desist.
“The Knicks want to make it clear that we do not endorse Mr. Mamdani for Mayor, and we object to his use of our copyrighted logo,” the spokesperson said. “We will pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights.”
The letter says the ad is “likely to mislead the public into believing that the Campaign is affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by, or in some way connected with the Knicks,” according to the New York Post.
On Friday, the ad was no longer on Mamdani’s Instagram account, but a recording posted by other users was still up. It shows footage of men playing basketball, and has narration such as “New York, this is our year,” and “We’ve struggled, we’ve had dreams dashed and hearts broken.” The ad includes crowd noise and mimics an announcer saying “Another disappointing loss for New York” and “He shoots, he scores!” After the narrator says, “New York, our time has come,” the “New York Zohran” Knicks logo flashes on the screen.
A spokesperson for the Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Adjustments are being made to the ad and while the Knicks might not be able to publicly support our campaign, we’re proud to publicly support our NY Knicks,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The statute that governs trademark law in the U.S., the Lanham Act, says an entity “shall be liable in a civil action” if it uses another’s identity to promote themselves in a way that could mislead consumers into thinking that person gave their sponsorship or approval.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won the New York City Democratic primary this summer and will run in the general election on Nov. 4.
Knicks owner James Dolan has often donated heavily in New York City elections, but has mainly sat out the mayoral race in favor of backing Diana Florence for Manhattan district attorney. A political action committee funded by MSG Entertainment, The Coalition to Restore New York, has run ads disparaging some of Mamdani’s proposed ideas including free buses, but claims to be educational rather than partisan.
The legal action isn’t necessarily a partisan move, as the team has a history of protecting its trademark. The Knicks, Rangers, and MSG Sports last year sued anonymous vendors who sell bootleg merchandise outside of Madison Square Garden, and the judge issued a temporary restraining order.
Mamdani, an avid sports fan, has repeatedly brought up his Knicks fandom in the campaign. He aired ads during Knicks playoff games and the season opener this week and interviewed Knicks fans outside of Madison Square Garden during the playoffs.
“Good evening. Thank you to the moderators, and thank you to New Yorkers for tuning in. I know you’d rather be watching the Knicks,” Mamdani began his opening statement in Wednesday night’s debate.
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