{"id":3114,"date":"2026-06-27T18:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114"},"modified":"2026-06-27T18:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:06:10","slug":"exclusive-knicks-slap-mamdani-backed-ny-senate-candidate-aber-kawas-with-cease-and-desist-letter-over-campaign-ad-false-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: ‘False advertising’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Knicks have fired off a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter to America-hating state Senate candidate Aber Kawas, threatening to slap her with a lawsuit for ripping a page out of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s playbook and using the NBA champs\u2019 iconic logo to boost her campaign, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Read more Miracle baby born on street beside earthquake ruins gives new hope to ravaged Venezuela<\/a><\/p>\n

Kawas \u2013 a Mamdani-backed, Democratic Socialist of America member who once described 9\/11 as a terror attack\u00a0that a \u201ccouple people did\u201d \u2013 tried to win over voters by using a doctored version of the Knicks logo on social media posts and campaign stickers throughout her primary run, which ended with her clinching the Democratic nomination for a Queens state Senate seat on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Brian N. Warner, senior vice president and head of legal for Madison Square Garden Sports, sent the letter to Kawas\u2019 campaign Friday night \u201cdemand[ing]\u201d it \u201cimmediately 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither 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,\u201d he wrote in the letter exclusively obtained by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Campaign\u2019s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false association, and unfair competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kawas\u2019 shameless bid to use the Knicks success and popularity for her own benefit includes a June 20 campaign message on X \u2013 posted a week after the Knicks won their first NBA Finals championship in 53 years.<\/p>\n

It uses a logo with the slogan \u201cI Voted for Aber Kawas\u201d that features the same font, orange-and-blue colors, and iconic basketball as the Knicks logo \u2014 but replaces the team\u2019s name with \u201cKawas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHead to the polls to claim your \u201cI Voted for Aber Kawas\u201d champion sticker,\u201d the post also says, while featuring a basketball emoji. \u201cEarn bragging rights, make your friends jealous, and let everyone know that you\u2019re part of our movement to fight for the world in the world\u2019s borough.<\/p>\n

Mamdani tried to pull the same slick trick in October while campaigning for mayor, airing an ad during the team\u2019s season opener that featured an altered logo replacing the word\u00a0\u201cKnicks\u201d with \u201cZohran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani pulled the ad after the team slammed him with a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter and stressed it wasn\u2019t making any endorsements in the race.<\/p>\n

Read more Zohran Mamdani jumps into NYC pool to kick off summer tradition \u2014 while violating dress code rules<\/a><\/p>\n

Billionaire Knicks and MSG owner James Dolan \u2014 a longtime friend of President Trump \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

The tension spilled over into awkward public exchanges by both sides during the team\u2019s June 18 victory parade and City Hall ceremony honoring the Knicks, which Mamdani hosted and Dolan attended.<\/p>\n

Kawas is a former\u00a0intern for the Council on American-Islamic Relations\u00a0who has\u00a0remained affiliated\u00a0with the controversial Muslim charity through her activism for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

She has come under fire for incendiary comments about 9\/11, which resurfaced on X last year after news of\u00a0Mamdani\u2019s reported support\u00a0for her campaign came to light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy et cetera \u2014 and Islamophobia \u2014 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 \u2026 with 9\/11,\u201d she said in an unearthed\u00a0video segment posted by Australian political activist Drew Pavlou.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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 \u2014 is something I find reprehensible,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The far left pol also believes federal holidays are no cause for celebration, The Post reported in December.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhether 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,\u201d the \u00a0longtime Palestinian-American activist wrote in an online journal posted\u00a0on Sept. 7, 2015 \u2014 Labor Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Kevin Durant shades Knicks weeks after historic NBA Finals win: \u2018Could be another 53-year wait\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Kawas campaign did not immediately return messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A MSG rep said the letter speaks for itself and declined further comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks issued a far-left state Senate candidate a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter threatening to slap her with a lawsuit for ripping a page out of fellow comrade and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s playbook by using the NBA champs\u2019 iconic logo to boost her campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Knicks issued a far-left state Senate candidate a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter threatening to slap her with a lawsuit for ripping a page out of fellow comrade and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s playbook by using the NBA champs\u2019 iconic logo to boost her campaign.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: ‘False advertising’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114\"},\"wordCount\":838,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Metro\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114\",\"name\":\"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=3114#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: ‘False advertising’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"The New York Knicks issued a far-left state Senate candidate a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter threatening to slap her with a lawsuit for ripping a page out of fellow comrade and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s playbook by using the NBA champs\u2019 iconic logo to boost her campaign.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: ‘False advertising’","datePublished":"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114"},"wordCount":838,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp","articleSection":["Metro"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114","name":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: 'False advertising' - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-27T18:06:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6d2ba01d4c04fa602d7de29fa84212a.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3114#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Exclusive | Knicks slap Mamdani-backed NY Senate candidate Aber Kawas with \u2018cease and desist\u2019 letter over campaign ad: ‘False advertising’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}