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The New York Knicks have reportedly issued a cease and desist letter to a New York Senate candidate who has been endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for using the championship team’s logo as part of her campaign.
The promotional stickers read, “I voted for Aber Kawas,” using the Knicks logo, with the team name replaced with “Kawas.”
According to the New York Post, the Knicks demanded that the campaign “immediately remove all promotional materials that incorporate Knicks intellectual property, including, but not limited to, unauthorized advertisements, and cease any further use of Knicks intellectual property.”
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Aber Kawas, youth activities director for the Arab American Association of New York, speaks at a rally in Columbus Circle protesting proposals to restrict Muslim arrivals to the United States. (Andy Katz/Corbis)
“Neither the Knicks nor the NBA [Properties] “I have authorized the Campaign to use Knicks intellectual property in any manner, including unauthorized advertisements, that are likely to mislead the public into believing that the Campaign is affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by, or in any way connected with the Knicks,” Brian N. Warner, senior vice president and head of legal affairs for Madison Square Garden Sports, said in the letter, according to the outlet.
“The Campaign’s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false association and unfair competition.”
The Knicks and Mamdani have had issues that began last year when Mamdani’s mayoral campaign also used the Knicks logo in a similar manner to Kawas. Mamdani received a cease-and-desist letter, and the Knicks made it clear that they were not endorsing anyone in the race, which 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 approached the White House, which then eliminated the position.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani presents New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson with the keys to the city during the Knicks’ championship parade in New York City on June 18, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
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Knicks owner James Dolan and Mamdani also had an exchange earlier this month about Knicks watch parties during the team’s championship run. The two came face to face at the championship celebration last week at City Hall, when Mamdani named Knicks legend-turned-Dolan rival Charles Oakley during a evocative speech about the Knicks, while Dolan took one final parting shot at the mayor and toughened him up in a photo shoot.
“I don’t need your vote. I don’t need to quote you what happened. If you’re real Knick fans, you already know that,” Dolan said.
Dolan did announce that the Knicks would go to the White House to visit President Donald Trump, who attended 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 notion that American Muslims should apologize for 9/11, an attack that “was done by a couple of people.”
Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American community organizer and democratic socialist running for the 34th New York State Assembly District, and Representative Claire Valdez attend a rally in New York City demanding a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments in Long Island City on May 7, 2026. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu)
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“I’ve always been outspoken about the unfair scapegoating of American Muslims, both before and after 9/11, and in this interview I was talking about the harmful notion that Muslims should have to apologize for an act of violence they had nothing to do with,” Kawas told Pak Gazette Digital on Thursday morning.
