CREATED BY SPORTS BETTORS FOR SPORTS BETTORS
LET’S HEAR YOUR STORY
The New York Knicks have sued the Toronto Raptors and several members of their organization, including a former Knicks employee, for allegedly stealing proprietary information, according to Ian Begley of SNY.
The Knicks filed the lawsuit on Monday, alleging that ex-Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam “illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position” with the Raptors.
According to the report, the material taken includes a prep book for the 2022-23 season, play frequency reports, and video scouting files.
Per Begley, the lawsuit alleges that Azotam “illegally procured” the information by sharing it with members of the Raptors organization, including new head coach Darko Rajakovic and player development coach Noah Lewis.
Per SNY, the Knicks reached out to the NBA and the Raptors before filing the lawsuit. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors' parent company, released a statement on Monday saying it intends to conduct an internal investigation and fully cooperate. MLSE "strongly denies" any involvement in the matter.
According to the lawsuit, Azotam, who worked for the Knicks as an assistant video coordinator and then as a director of video/analytics/player development from 2020-23, was recruited to work for the Raptors in or around June of this year. With Rajakovic serving as a first-time head coach, the lawsuit claims the Raptors “conspired to use Azotam’s position as a current Knicks insider to funnel proprietary information to the Raptors to help them organize, plan, and structure the new coaching and video operations staff.”
Azotam reportedly informed the Knicks of an offer to join the Raptors organization last month, and at that time, he allegedly began “secretly forwarding proprietary information from his Knicks email account to his personal Gmail account, which he then shared with the Raptors Defendants."
The lawsuit also alleges that other Raptors employees "directed Azotam to misuse his access to the Knicks' subscription to Synergy Sports to create and then transfer to the Raptors Defendants over 3,000 files consisting of film information and data."
The Raptors are scheduled to face the Knicks on Dec. 1 in the first of four meetings between the division rivals this season.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies.
