The New York Knicks‘ title defense is off to an embarrassing start. The team is having a public spat with Karl-Anthony Towns over a contract extension. They lost their first game of the season to the Philadelphia 76ers after raising the championship banner. And now there’s a report from “The Athletic” that many coaches did not receive their championship rings on Tuesday and instead were given empty boxes during the ceremony.
According to “The Athletic,” assistant coaches were taken by surprise that they weren’t getting their rings on Tuesday. Their reactions ranged from “genuine anger to annoyance.”
While it’s not unheard of, the franchise still seems to be putting a classic Knicks’ spin on things. The Athletic has also reported that “many longtime employees at Madison Square Garden, including some who work in the Knicks’ business operations, will not receive rings at all.”
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Knicks’ championship ring phishing expedition
And somehow it gets worse. Via The Athletic:
Those Madison Square Garden employees got their hopes up at the end of September when the Knicks sent an email to a long list of employees, which gave recipients a first glimpse at their would-be championship rings. Atop the email, a copy of which The Athletic has obtained, was a graphic of two differently styled rings.
“Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here,” the email read.
“(Employee name), this one is on the house. MSG is issuing a complimentary employee championship ring. The same jeweler, the same craftsmanship, personalized with your name. No cost to you.
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Employees were given a choice between “Championship Gold” and “Garden Classic.” The only problem was whichever one the employee picked, they ended up in a mandatory cybersecurity class because the email promising championship rings for employees of the championship organization was actually a phishing test.
If you’re wondering why the Knicks would do something like that, you should check out a report from Pablo Torre and Wired discussing Dolan’s security concerns. Not that it makes this make any sense to a normal person.
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