Raptors file motion to dismiss Knicks ‘baseless’ lawsuit
Posted October 16, 2023 2:42 pm.
Last Updated October 16, 2023 2:44 pm.
The Toronto Raptors have filed a motion to dismiss a New York Knicks lawsuit against them, which alleges the Raptors conspired to steal thousands of videos and other scouting secrets over the summer.
The Raptors’ filing was made in a New York court on Monday. The Raptors call for the civil suit to be dismissed and want claims moved to arbitration.
“This baseless lawsuit is a public relations stunt by the Knicks,” a lawyer for Raptors owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment writes in the team’s response.
“It has no business wasting judicial resources given the all-encompassing arbitration clause in the parties’ governing agreement.”
The Raptors say that the NBA, not the legal system, should be resolving this kind of conflict.
“The Knicks agreed that the NBA Commissioner has exclusive, full, complete, final and binding authority to adjudicate disputes like this between member clubs,” the Raptors write. “That agreement recognizes the NBA Commissioner is the best person to adjudicate such claims in the most efficient manner possible.”
Head coach Darko Rajakovic named in Knicks lawsuit
When asked if the Knicks had any comment on the Raptors’ filing, a Madison Square Garden Sports spokesperson said:
“As we have previously stated, given the theft of proprietary and confidential files and clear violation of criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this to federal court and are confident the judicial system will agree.”
In the original lawsuit, the Knicks said the theft occurred after the Raptors hired and recruited “a mole” within the Knicks organization.
The lawsuit identified him as Ikechukwu Azotam, who since August 2021 had directed the planning, organizing and distribution of all video scouting responsibilities for the Knicks coaching staff. Azotam is now head of video and player development assistant for the Raptors.
They blamed Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, hired in June, along with player development coach Noah Lewis, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and 10 unidentified Raptors employees, saying that they received propriety information and sometimes directed Azotam to misuse his access to Knicks information.
“While irrelevant to this Motion, these allegations are false and overblown. At the appropriate time, and in the appropriate forum, the Named Defendants will demonstrate that the alleged “theft of data” involved little more than publicly available information compiled through public sources readily accessible to all NBA Members,” the Raptors write in their response.
“These were not the Knicks’ team and player statistics, play frequency data, player tendencies, or play calls, but rather those of other NBA teams — including particularly the Raptors’ own game film — compiled from video of their games accessible to all NBA teams (and, indeed, the general public),” the Raptors added.
“In other words, they were far from confidential, let alone trade secrets.
