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A New York Senate candidate endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reportedly received a cease and desist letter from the New York Knicks for using the championship team’s logo in her campaign.
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 incorporating 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, director of youth activities for the Arab American Association of New York, speaks at a rally at Columbus Circle to protest proposals to restrict the arrival of Muslims in the United States. (Andy Katz/Corbis)
“Neither the Knicks nor the NBA [Properties] “We have authorized the Campaign to use Knicks intellectual property in any manner, including unauthorized advertising, that may 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 chief legal officer of 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 beef that began last year when Mamdani’s mayoral campaign also used the Knicks logo in a manner similar to Kawas’. Mamdani received a cease and desist letter, and the Knicks made it clear they were not backing anyone in the race, which Mamdani won.
The White House then used the Knicks logo in a message shortly after last year’s election to say, “Trump is your president.” The Knicks contacted the White House, which then deleted the post.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gives New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson the keys to the city during the Knicks championship parade in New York on June 18, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
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Knicks owner James Dolan and Mamdani also had exchanges earlier this month about Knicks watch parties during the team’s championship run. The two came face to face during last week’s championship celebration at City Hall, when Mamdani revealed the name of Knicks legend turned Dolan rival Charles Oakley during a Knicks-spoking speech, while Dolan took one last parting shot at the mayor and stiffed him during a photo op.
“I don’t need your vote. I don’t need to tell you what happened. If you’re real Knicks fans, you already know that,” Dolan said.
Dolan announced that the Knicks would travel 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 nominee for New York Senate District 12 and is also a socialist. She was recently criticized for rejecting the idea that Muslim Americans should apologize for 9/11, an attack that “a few people made.”
Aber Kawas, Palestinian-American community organizer and democratic socialist running for New York State Assembly District 34, and Rep. Claire Valdez attend a protest in New York demanding a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments in Long Island City on May 7, 2026. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu)
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“I’ve always spoken openly about scapegoating Muslim Americans, before and after 9/11, and in this interview I was talking about the harmful idea that Muslims should have to apologize for an act of violence that they had nothing to do with,” Kawas told PK Press Club Digital Thursday morning.
