NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
A New York Senate candidate who has been backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reportedly been issued a cease and desist letter by the New York Knicks for using the championship team’s logo as part of his campaign.
Promotional stickers read, “I voted for Aber Kawas,” using the Knicks logo, with the team’s name replaced with “Kawas.”
According to the New York Post, the Knicks demanded that the campaign “immediately remove all promotional materials incorporating the Knicks Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the unauthorized advertisements, and cease any further use of the Knicks Intellectual Property.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Aber Kawas, Youth Activities Director for the Arab-American Association of New York, speaks at a rally in Columbus Circle protesting proposals to limit Muslim arrivals in the United States. (Andy Katz/Corbis)
“Neither the Knicks nor the NBA [Properties] has authorized the campaign to use the Knicks’ intellectual property in any way, including the unauthorized advertisements, which are likely to mislead the public into believing that the campaign is affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by or in any way connected with the Knicks,” said Brian N. Warner, senior vice president and chief legal officer for Madison Square Garden Sports, in The Outlet Square Garden Sports newspaper.
“The campaign’s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false affiliation and unfair competition.”
The Knicks and Mamdani have had beef that began last year when Mamdani’s mayoral campaign also used the Knicks logo in the same way as Kawas. Mamdani was given a cease-and-desist letter, and the Knicks made it clear they were not endorsing anyone in the race Mamdani won.
The White House then used the Knicks logo in a post shortly after last year’s election to say, “Trump is your president.” The Knicks reached out to the White House, which then removed the post.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gives New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson the keys to the city during the Knicks’ championship ticker tape parade in New York City on June 18, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
NYC CANCELS KNICKS NBA FINALS WATCH TRUMP VISIT CELEBRATION AS MSG BREAKS BACK
Knicks owner James Dolan and Mamdani also had a back-and-forth earlier this month about Knicks watch parties during the team’s championship run. The two came face-to-face at last week’s championship celebration at City Hall, when Mamdani name-dropped Knicks legend-turned-Dolan rival Charles Oakley during a pep talk about the Knicks, while Dolan took a final farewell shot at the mayor and stiffed him in a photo op.
“I don’t need your vote. I don’t need to quote you what happened. If you’re real Knick fans, you already know,” Dolan said.
Dolan announced that the Knicks would go to the White House to visit President Donald Trump, who was attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks would be the first NBA team to visit Trump.
Kawas, the Muslim daughter of illegal immigrants, is now the Democratic candidate for New York’s Senate District 12 and is also a socialist. She recently came under fire for rejecting the idea that Muslim Americans need to apologize for 9/11, an attack “a few people did.”
Aber Kawas, a Palestinian American community organizer and democratic socialist running for New York State Assembly District 34, and Rep. Claire Valdez attends a demonstration in New York City calling for a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments in Long Island City on May 7, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
“I’ve always been outspoken about the unfair scapegoating of Muslim Americans, both before and after 9/11, and in this interview I spoke about the harmful notion that Muslims should apologize for an act of violence they had nothing to do with,” Kawas told Pakinomist Digital Thursday morning.
