NBA faces 'Spygate' scandal as New York Knicks sue Toronto Raptors after 'leak'
The New York Knicks are attempting to sue the Toronto Raptors after the NBA team allegedly received thousands of confidential files exposing information.
The lawsuit that was obtained by ESPN shows that the Raptors, members of their organisation and a former Knicks employee are facing action from the team. The Knicks claim that Ikechukwu Azotam, who worked for the Knicks between 2020 and 2023, sent the Raptors thousands of confidential files.
The files included intel such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022/23 season, video scouting files, and also research into their opposition's future. The Raptors began recruiting Azotam to join their team this summer after he officially left the Knicks.
Azotam was previously an assistant video coordinator for the Knicks, and has been accused of violating a confidentiality agreement written into his employment contract. Members of the Raptors organisation that are being sued are involved as the Knicks claim they knowingly benefitted from the file share, taking advantage of Azotam's unsanctioned behaviour.
The Knicks also believe that the Raptors used their information as a way of planning for the future, allowing them to have a guide to follow when hiring a new coaching and video staff. Both their head coach and assistant coach left the Raptors, with Nick Nurse joining the Philadelphia 76ers and Adrian Griffin joining the Milwaukee Bucks.
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The Knicks released a statement following the lawsuit, with an MSG Sports spokesperson saying: "Given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left with no choice but to take this action." This prompted a response from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the company which owns the Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, and other major sports teams within the region.
The Raptors were 3-1 over the New York Knicks last season (2023 Mark Blinch)"MLSE and the Toronto Raptors received a letter from [Madison Square Garden] on Thursday of last week bringing this complaint to our attention," the statement reads. "MLSE responded promptly, making clear our intention to conduct an internal investigation and to fully cooperate.
"MLSE has not been advised that a lawsuit was being filed or has been filed following its correspondence with MSG. The company strongly denies any involvement in the matters alleged. MLSE and the Toronto Raptors will reserve further comment until this matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties."
Under federal law, all defendants have up to 21 days to file a response to the lawsuit, and so far there have been no statements released by Azotam or the NBA team. Azotam reportedly told the Knicks in July that he would be joining the Raptors after they'd offered him a job.
The Raptors have 21 days to respond to the lawsuit (Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto)The Knicks have also claimed that at a similar time he began clearing out his employee email and sending information to his personal account. Their lawsuit states that 3,358 video files were shared illegally, and that those files had been accessed over 2,000 times by members of the Raptors organisation.
The lawsuit contains: "Azotam began secretly forwarding proprietary information from his Knicks email account to his personal Gmail account, which he then shared with the Raptors Defendants." The New York team are hoping to receive compensation via unspecified damages, want to ensure the Raptors use none of the alleged information obtained, and that Azotam also receive no personal gain from his actions.
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