New York Knicks officials hit city mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani with a cease-and-desist order after he used the team’s logo in one of his campaign ads.
The NBA franchise made clear it does not support Mamdani’s run for mayor and demanded that he pull the ad immediately.
The far-left candidate complied on Friday, taking down the video after being contacted by the team’s legal department.
The controversy began when Mamdani’s campaign aired a promo during the Knicks’ season opener on Wednesday night. The ad featured the team’s orange and blue logo with the word “Knicks” replaced by “Zohran.”
The video was also posted across all of Mamdani’s campaign social media pages with the caption, “This is our year. This is our time.”
Team executives said the ad created confusion among viewers and may have led the public to believe that the Knicks were backing Mamdani’s campaign.
In a statement to The Post, a Knicks spokesperson said the team took immediate legal action, as Trending Politics reported.
“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 spokesperson said.
“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 legal notice, which was first reported by the New York Post, said the ad was “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.”
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has drawn controversy throughout his campaign for embracing far-left policies and criticizing law enforcement.
Billionaire Knicks owner James Dolan has stayed quiet about the mayoral race but has signaled opposition to far-left figures in New York politics.
Earlier this year, Dolan announced his support for independent candidate Diana Florence, who is running to unseat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
As early voting begins, Mamdani remains the heavy favorite in the three-way race against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
A recent Patriot Polling survey — one of the few pollsters that accurately predicted the 2024 presidential outcome — shows Mamdani with 43 percent of the vote. Cuomo trails by nine points, while Sliwa holds just 19 percent support.
The poll underscores how dominant Mamdani’s campaign has become, even as he faces legal pressure and public backlash for his tactics.
The Knicks incident has only added to questions about his judgment and ethics as the city’s election draws near.
