The Knicks have sent a “cease and desist” notice to controversial state Senate candidate Aber Kawas, warning that her campaign could face legal action over its alleged use of the team’s well-known logo in political materials, The Post has learned.
Kawas — a Mamdani-backed member of the Democratic Socialists of America who previously characterized 9/11 as a terror attack that a “couple people did” — used a modified version of the Knicks logo in social media posts and campaign stickers during her primary bid, which ended Tuesday with her winning the Democratic nomination for a Queens state Senate seat.
Brian N. Warner, senior vice president and head of legal for Madison Square Garden Sports, sent the letter to Kawas’ campaign Friday night, “demand[ing]” that it “immediately remove all promotional materials incorporating Knicks Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the unauthorized Advertisements, and cease any further use of Knicks Intellectual Property.”
“Neither the Knicks nor NBA [Properties] have authorized the Campaign to use Knicks Intellectual Property in any way, including the Unauthorized Advertisements, which are 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,” Warner wrote in the letter, which was obtained exclusively by The Post.
“The Campaign’s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false association, and unfair competition,” the letter continued.
The campaign’s use of Knicks-inspired imagery included a June 20 post on X, shared one week after the team captured its first NBA Finals championship in 53 years.
The graphic featured the phrase “I Voted for Aber Kawas” in a design closely resembling the Knicks’ branding, including similar lettering, orange-and-blue coloring, and the familiar basketball motif — with “Kawas” substituted for the team name.
“Head to the polls to claim your ‘I Voted for Aber Kawas’ champion sticker,” the post said, accompanied by a basketball emoji. “Earn bragging rights, make your friends jealous, and let everyone know that you’re part of our movement to fight for the world in the world’s borough.”
Mamdani tried to pull the same slick trick in October while campaigning for mayor, airing an ad during the team’s season opener that featured an altered logo replacing the word “Knicks” with “Zohran.”
Mamdani pulled the ad after the team slammed him with a “cease and desist” letter and stressed it wasn’t making any endorsements in the race.
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Billionaire Knicks and MSG owner James Dolan — a longtime friend of President Donald Trump — got into a public feud earlier this month with the Mamdani administration over cancelled fan watch parties outside MSG during the NBA Finals due to city-imposed security measures.
The tension spilled over into awkward public exchanges by both sides during the team’s June 18 victory parade and City Hall ceremony honoring the Knicks, which Mamdani hosted and Dolan attended.
Kawas is a former intern for the Council on American-Islamic Relations who has remained affiliated with the controversial Muslim charity through her activism for more than a decade.
She has come under fire for incendiary comments about 9/11, which resurfaced on X last year after news of Mamdani’s reported support for her campaign came to light.
“The system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy et cetera — and Islamophobia — have all been used, you know, to colonize lands, to take resources from other people, and so this is a long trajectory and we are just seeing the manifestations of that continuation … with 9/11,” she said in an unearthed video segment posted by Australian political activist Drew Pavlou.
“The idea we have to apologize for like a terror attack that like a couple of people did and then there is no apology or reparations for genocides and for slavery, et cetera — is something I find reprehensible,” she added.
The far left pol also believes federal holidays are no cause for celebration, The Post reported in December.
“Whether it is July 4th, Thanksgiving, Veterans, Columbus or now Labor Day, we enjoy days off that are supposed to be victories for people, when they truly represent the silencing & destruction of our movements,” the longtime Palestinian-American activist wrote in an online journal posted on Sept. 7, 2015 — Labor Day.
“Today I do not celebrate a day off, I only recommit myself to a global movement that fights against the death, displacement, and exploitation of people for capital.”
Kawas campaign did not immediately return messages.
A MSG rep said the letter speaks for itself and declined further comment.
