The NBA has finally reached out to the Knicks and Raptors to investigate the allegations of file theft, the Post's Stephen Bondi reported on Monday.
The matter was requested by a federal court after the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors accusing video coordinator Ike Azotamu, and the NBA had until Dec. 13 to provide an update on the matter. This comes after the Knicks and Raptors agreed in a joint filing that they would not provide the contract. On bringing the file to my new role in Toronto.
“The NBA has acknowledged that this significant theft of proprietary and confidential files went unnoticed for several months,” an MSG Sports spokesperson told the Post. “The NBA has a clear conflict of interest and a lack of appetite for a fair outcome in this matter. That's what we've said all along.”
Raptors. new york knicks
The Knicks first filed suit against the Raptors in August 2023, accusing Azotam, a former team employee, of “illegally bringing thousands of proprietary files into his new position.”
The Knicks were seeking $10 million in damages as part of the lawsuit.
A federal judge ruled in June that disputes between the two NBA franchises should be arbitrated by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who had requested an update from the league by last Friday.
The Knicks claim Silver is not an impartial decision-maker in the matter because of his relationship with Raptors co-owner and NBA Board of Governors Chairman Larry Tannenbaum.
The Knicks argued in court filings that Tannenbaum “acts as Silver's superior, controlling and exerting significant influence over Silver's continued employment and salary.”
Silver declined to answer questions about objectivity when he spoke to reporters in Las Vegas after the owners' meeting in July.
“The second part of your question is, [about the Knicks questioning my objectivity],” Silver said at the time when discussing the court's decision to let the NBA handle the matter.
“The first part is that we received notice of the court's decision and are currently in the process of working on those issues in the league office.”
