The New York Knicks have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city’s frontrunning mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, after his campaign launched an ad using a logo strikingly similar to that of the NBA team.
The advert, depicting an intense game of amateur basketball in New York, aired during the Knicks season opener Wednesday night at which they triumphed over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But the move has not gone down well with the team. In a statement, the Knicks said they wanted to make it clear they “do not endorse Mr Mamdani for Mayor.”
“The NY Knicks have sent NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a cease-and-desist letter for using the NY Knicks logo to promote his candidacy.
“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. We will pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights.”
The furoré comes less than two weeks before New Yorkers cast their ballots 4 November.
The Democrats’ Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo and the Republicans’ Curtis Sliwa will face off at the polls. Mamdani is the overwhelming favourite to become the city’s next mayor, polling data shows.
On Thursday it emerged President Donald Trump has told allies in private that he believes Mamdani is unbeatable, given his commanding lead.
He also suggested that there was little point in Sliwa dropping out to help Cuomo beat Mamdani either.
Speaking about the race to reporters on Tuesday, Trump indicated reluctant support for Cuomo and said: “It’s really a question of would I rather have a Democrat or a communist? And I would rather have a Democrat than a communist.”
He added that if Sliwa dropped out, “maybe Cuomo would have a little bit of a chance, but not much.”
Trump is himself a native New Yorker, and the Trump Organization still has its headquarters in Manhattan.
In Mamdani’s campaign ad, a dramatic amateur game of basketball is shown while a gravelly, Hollywood movie trailer-style voice says: “New York, this is our year. We’ve struggled – had dreams dashed and hearts broken. But things can be different. Hope is back.”
It then cuts to a slow motion shot of a basketball soaring through the urban environment and going through the hoop, as an announcer yells “he shoots… he scores!”
“Our time has come,” the voiceover adds, as the Knicks-esque logo appears on the screen reading New York Zohran, instead of New York Knicks.
The Independent has contacted Mamdani’s representatives for comment.
