In the latest judicial decision belonging to the Knicks vs. Raptors saga reported by The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov on June 28, U.S. District Court Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke resolved the legal clash directing the matter to be settled within the jurisdiction of the NBA rather than in federal court.
The dispute between the New York Knicks and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), owner of the Toronto Raptors, comes from allegations by the Knicks that a former employee, now with the Raptors, illicitly obtained and used confidential team data upon joining the Canadian organization. The Knicks pursued legal action seeking $10 million in damages.
Judge Clarke’s ruling emphasized the NBA Constitution’s provision for arbitration overseen by Commissioner Adam Silver in disputes among league teams. She deemed the league’s internal mechanisms as the appropriate forum for resolving such allegations of misconduct, dismissing the Knicks’ insistence on a federal court trial.
“This case is about NBA competition and appears to fall squarely within the type of dispute about cheating to win over which the NBA Constitution vests the Commissioner with exclusive jurisdiction,” Clarke wrote. “The Court need not ponder the hypothetical boundaries of the NBA Constitution’s Arbitration Clause because this case appears squarely within its intended scope. The Knicks’ suggestion that a reasonable team would not see the present dispute as connected in some way to the NBA Constitution is an airball.”
The Knicks questioned Commissioner Silver’s impartiality due to his professional ties with Raptors chairman Larry Tanenbaum. Judge Clarke rebuffed claims that Silver’s affiliations compromised his ability to fairly arbitrate, asserting that such contentions lacked sufficient merit to disqualify him.
“The attack on the fitness of Commissioner Silver to arbitrate this dispute is premature,” Judge Clarke asserted. “It is akin to a complaint about the officiating before the game has even started.”
The Raptors, as expected, welcomed the ruling.
“[We] are pleased that the court agreed this should be resolved by the NBA, which we have maintained is the correct forum for disputes of this nature,” a Raptors spokesman said. “We hope this brings this matter to a close.”
The Knicks and the Raptors will know when they’ll face each other a round mid-August when the NBA usually releases the regular-season schedule for the upcoming campaign.