By Mike Vorkunov, Eric Koreen and Fred Katz

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the mum or dad firm of the Toronto Raptors, responded loudly Monday to the lawsuit it’s going through from the New York Knicks with a robust denial in a federal courtroom submitting within the Southern District of New York. MLSE referred to as the lawsuit “baseless” and “a public relations stunt by the Knicks” and requested the choose to dismiss the go well with.

MLSE is considered one of a number of named defendants within the lawsuit, alongside Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković, growth coach Noah Lewis and video coordinator Ikechukwu Azotam, together with 10 John Does who’re but to be recognized. The Knicks sued in August, alleging that Azotam stole proprietary information from the franchise whereas he was nonetheless a Knicks worker and took it with him to Toronto.

In its response, MLSE mentioned it believes the preliminary lawsuit was filed not solely to create dangerous publicity towards the Raptors but in addition to create a chilling impact on future staff who could determine to depart the group. It claims that Rajaković, Lewis and Azotam didn’t even know they have been being sued till the lawsuit was reported within the media.

“As the Knicks surely expected and presumably intended, the filing of this lawsuit — virtually unprecedented between two members of the NBA or, frankly, two teams in any North American professional sports league — generated significant publicity,” MLSE wrote in its movement to dismiss. “The effect of such a public accusation of wrongdoing in federal court was to tarnish the stellar reputations of Messrs. Rajaković, Lewis and Azotam, as well as MLSE, and to chill present and future Knicks’ employees from their pursuit of employment with other members.”

In its first authorized response to the lawsuit, MLSE laid out a timeline that it argues exhibits proof the Knicks have been extra keen on publicity than in a substantive declare. On Aug. 18, a day after the Knicks advised the Raptors about Azotam and its allegations, MLSE’s chief authorized officer responded by saying the membership had no real interest in the data the Knicks mentioned was taken and that it might cooperate with the Knicks.

The Knicks then filed the lawsuit on Aug. 21, the following enterprise day, in line with the brand new submitting. This timeline, MLSE says in its movement, exhibits that the Knicks weren’t keen on its provide to work collectively to analyze the Knicks’ allegations.

MLSE additionally responded forcefully to the chief claims made by the Knicks — that Azotam took commerce secrets and techniques with him to Toronto and that he had been cultivated by Rajaković and used as a mole. In its movement to dismiss, MLSE referred to as the latter accusation “false and overblown” and mentioned the greater than 3,300 video clips weren’t confidential and accessible to anybody within the NBA.

“I think there has been one time in the history of the NBA that a team has sued another team,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri mentioned final month. “Go figure.”

Rajaković addressed the lawsuit through the Raptors’ preseason media day, saying he was “shocked.”

“I did not know where it’s coming from,” Rajaković mentioned. “Obviously, the lawsuit is ongoing. I cannot make way too many comments on it. What I can say is, I know who I am. I know how my parents raised me. I know what I see every single day when I look in the mirror. I know that there’s nothing that I should be worried about. And I cannot wait for this lawsuit to be over so everybody can find the truth.”

In a letter to the MLSE on Aug. 17, the Knicks requested the Raptors to destroy all of the video information and signal an affidavit confirming that they had, give entry to its digital information to the Knicks, give the Knicks a full understanding of all of New York’s information that it had, protect the data on Azotam’s gadgets and inform him to sit down down for an interview with the Knicks.

MLSE additionally claimed that any dispute between the Raptors and Knicks needs to be dealt with by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and never by way of the courtroom. It says that the NBA’s structure binds each groups and that Silver ought to determine learn how to deal with their disagreement, not a federal choose.

“The fact that the Knicks elected to commence their action in this forum … can only be explained by a concern that pursuit of their claims in the proper forum would receive no public attention and would be denied by the NBA Commissioner,” the movement to dismiss mentioned. “The Knicks’ conduct from the outset of this dispute leaves no doubt that their goal has been to elicit negative press attention against the Named Defendants rather than the pursuit of valid claims.”

An MSG Sports spokesperson issued an announcement to The Athletic on Monday: “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 we are confident the judicial system will agree.”

While the NBA has not publicly commented on this case other than Silver’s remarks after a Board of Governors assembly in September, it has communicated with each franchises behind the scenes. MLSE’s high lawyer wrote to NBA normal counsel Rich Buchanan on Aug. 25 that the league ought to take management of the dispute, and the Knicks responded two weeks later that the NBA’s structure has language that would assist that perception however countered that the NBA’s structure doesn’t give the league “exclusive authority over criminal matters.”

Buchanan advised the groups later that month the league has not determined but on whether or not it’s the place to arbitrate their claims, or if it needs to be determined in federal courtroom. Instead, it might observe the federal choose’s resolution on whether or not this is a matter for the NBA or for the Southern District.

“I think this ultimately may end up in front of me, so I think it’s appropriate for me to withhold judgment,” Silver mentioned final month when requested in regards to the lawsuit.

The Athletic reached out to the NBA for remark Monday, however a league spokesperson directed additional questions again to Silver’s quote from September.

(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE through Getty Images)