The New York Knicks are said to have filed a lawsuit against the Toronto Raptors because a new recruit to the Canadian team allegedly brought exclusive information about the organization.

According to the daily newspaper New York PostThe lawsuit targets former Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam, but also the Raptors, their new head coach Darko Rajakovic and player development coach Noah Lewis.

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In a statement to New York media, the Knicks said Azotam “illegally stole thousands of proprietary files” to help the Raptors. The NBA team claims they were able to help prepare Rajakovic, who will be in Toronto for his first season at the helm.

“Those records include sensitive information such as game frequency reports, a pre-season 2022-23 book, scouting videos and more. Because of this clear breach of our employment contract and the criminal and civil justice system, we were left with no choice but to take this action,” the Big Apple team said.

The Knicks believe the records stolen from them allow them to “maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals, including the Raptors.”

Questionable procedure

According to the lawsuit, Azotam also sent documents from his Knicks employee’s email address to his personal address before forwarding them to the Raptors. He would have made the transfer last July after telling his employer that he wanted to join the Torontonians next year.

Azotam eventually left the organization on August 14, and the Knicks learned of this document exchange the following day. According to ESPN, that would include 3,358 videos that “the Raptors’ defendants accessed more than 2,000 times,” the lawsuit document said.

The Toronto team responded to the allegations with assurances that an internal investigation was underway and that they would fully cooperate. However, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) said it was not notified of a lawsuit but received a letter of complaint from the Knicks on Thursday.

“The company firmly denies any involvement in the alleged affairs. MLSE and the Toronto Raptors will not comment on the matter until it is resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” the statement read.

In addition, the Knicks are demanding that Azotam and the Raptors not take advantage of this alleged document theft and that they be awarded damages.