New York City mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani found himself in hot water Wednesday night after the New York Knicks issued a formal cease-and-desist letter over his campaign’s use of the team’s branding.
During the Knicks’ season opener, Mamdani’s campaign ran an advertisement that prominently featured the team’s logo, alongside the candidate’s name, “Zohran,” emblazoned across the image. The move drew an immediate response from the franchise.
“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 team spokesperson confirmed to the New York Post.
The statement made clear that the Knicks do not endorse Mamdani and object to the unauthorized use of their copyrighted logo. “We will pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights,” the spokesperson added, signaling the team’s intent to take the matter seriously.
Mamdani, a socialist Democrat who currently leads in polling ahead of next month’s mayoral election, has yet to comment publicly on the dispute. The incident underscores the legal risks candidates face when leveraging corporate trademarks in political advertising without explicit permission.
#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 Knicks’ cease-and-desist letter, Mamdani’s campaign 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 responded to the controversy over the weekend, 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.
Polling continues to show Mamdani with a commanding lead. A Fox News survey published Oct. 16 found him holding a 21-point advantage over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Among registered New York City voters, 49 percent supported Mamdani, 28 percent backed Cuomo, and just 13 percent supported Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Political scientist Daron Shaw noted to Fox News, “The interesting question is about turnout. Will voters who oppose Mamdani but are ambivalent about the other candidates hold their noses and show up for Cuomo?”
The race has already drawn attention from national figures. President Donald Trump warned on Oct. 14 that, if Mamdani wins, he would withhold federal funding and could deploy the National Guard to New York City. “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.”