Knicks and Raptors Settle Legal Dispute Over Theft of Information
The New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors have reached an agreement to dismiss a 2023 lawsuit related to the alleged theft of thousands of confidential files. This is indicated by a court document filed on Friday.
Representatives from both teams issued a joint statement: “The Knicks and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment [owner of the Raptors] have withdrawn their respective claims and the matter is resolved. The parties are focused on the future.”
The lawsuit, filed by the Knicks in August 2023, sought more than $10 million in damages. The team alleged that the Raptors recruited Ikechukwu Azotam, who worked for the Knicks from 2020 to 2023, and ordered him to provide a large amount of internal information after Toronto began recruiting him in the summer of 2023. The Knicks argued that this effort aimed to give the Raptors a competitive advantage.
Specifically, the Knicks accused Azotam, who served as a video coordination assistant and then as director of video/analysis/assistant player development, of sending the Raptors thousands of confidential files. These included game frequency reports, a preparation book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files, and opposition research.
The Knicks alleged that Azotam acted at the request of the Raptors, who, according to them, were trying to “organize, plan and structure the new coaching and video operations staff,” according to the August 2023 complaint.
The Raptors, Azotam, Toronto coach Darko Rajaković, player development coach Noah Lewis, and 10 “unknown” employees were listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a court document from October 2023, the Raptors called the Knicks’ accusations “baseless” and a “public relations stunt.” The Raptors argued that the “alleged ‘data theft’ involved little more than publicly available information, compiled through public sources easily accessible to all NBA members.”
The Raptors repeatedly requested that NBA commissioner Adam Silver intervene and resolve the dispute, to which a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Lower Manhattan agreed.
The case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, which means it is dismissed permanently.
