Both sides agreed to voluntarily dismiss an August 2023 lawsuit related to the alleged theft of thousands of documents, court filings say. obtained by ESPN on Friday.
The teams made identical statements.
“The Knicks and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment have withdrawn their claims and the matter has been resolved. The parties are focused on the future.”
Because the case was dismissed by New York “with prejudice,” it is considered permanently over.
In the lawsuit, the Knicks sued the Raptors, head coach Darko Rajakovic and a former Knicks scouting official, alleging the defendants conspired to steal thousands of videos and other scouting secrets.
The Knicks said the theft occurred after the Raptors hired and recruited a mole within the Knicks organization. The suit names Ikechukwu Azotam, who, since August 2021, oversaw the planning, organization and distribution of all video intelligence duties for the Knicks coaching staff.
The Knicks were seeking $10 million in damages.
MLSE filed a motion to dismiss in October 2023, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and a “PR stunt” by the Knicks.
In June 2024, a federal judge ruled that the dispute must be resolved by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
New York argued that Silver should not serve as an arbitrator in the dispute largely because of his relationship with Raptors governor and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment minority owner Larry Tanenbaum.
–with files from The Associated Press
