Zohran Mamdani Receives a Cease-and-Desist Letter from the NY Knicks
New York city mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani faced a cease-and-desist letter from the New York Knicks after his campaign aired an ad during the Knicks’ season opener that used their logo without permission. The Knicks clarified they do not endorse Mamdani and warned that his use of their trademark could mislead the public into thinking there is an official affiliation. Mamdani’s campaign responded by stating they are making adjustments to the ad and expressed pride in supporting the Knicks, despite the lack of official endorsement. Polls show Mamdani leading considerably in the mayoral race, ahead of self-reliant candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican curtis Sliwa. The controversy highlights tensions as Mamdani, a socialist Democrat, gains strong voter support, with some political figures like former President Donald Trump threatening to withhold federal funding and deploy the national Guard if Mamdani wins.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani went way out of bounds Wednesday night, according to a cease-and-desist letter from the New York Knicks.
During the team’s season opener, Mamdani’s campaign ran an ad featuring the Knicks’ logo with “Zohran” emblazoned across.
The Knicks quickly called “foul” on the socialist Democrat candidate, who’s the frontrunner in next month’s mayoral election.
“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,” a Knicks spokesman told the New York Post.
“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 spokesman added.
#NYCMayor: The Zohran Mamdani campaign ran this spot last night during the Cavs-Knicks game — pic.twitter.com/VjlYb1b8kS
— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) October 23, 2025
According to the letter, 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.”
The Mamdani campaign has since responded to the controversy, Bloomberg reported Friday.
“Adjustments are being made to the ad and while the Knicks might not be able to publicly support our campaign, we’re proud to publicly support our NY Knicks,” said Dora Pekec, Mamdani’s campaign spokeswoman.
According to a Fox News survey published Oct. 16, Mamdani had a 21-point lead ahead of Andrew Cuomo, who’s running as an independent.
Among New York City’s registered voters, 49 percent supported Mamdani, while 28 percent supported Cuomo, according to the poll.
Only 13 percent backed Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
“The interesting question is about turnout,” political scientist Daron Shaw told Fox News. “Will voters who oppose Mamdani but are ambivalent about the other candidates hold their noses and show up for Cuomo?”
If Mamdani wins, President Donald Trump said he would withhold federal funding and deploy the National Guard to New York City, according to NY1, on Oct. 14.
“I was always very generous with New York, even when you had opposition there. But I was always very generous,” Trump said.
“But I wouldn’t be generous to a communist, a guy that’s going to take the money and throw it out the window. Because you’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. And we’re not going to let somebody get into office, and squander the taxpayer money from this country,” he added.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
