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The New York Knicks' title defense is not going as planned. The team is engaged in a public contract dispute with Karl-Anthony Towns, and they dropped their season opener to the Philadelphia 76ers after raising their championship banner. Now, a report from The Athletic reveals that many coaches did not receive their championship rings on Tuesday; instead, they were handed empty boxes during the ceremony.
According to The Athletic, assistant coaches were caught off guard when they learned they would not be receiving their rings that day. Their reactions ranged from genuine anger to annoyance. While such delays are not unheard of, the franchise seems to be adding a classic Knicks twist to the situation.
The Athletic also reported that many longtime employees at Madison Square Garden, including some in the Knicks' business operations, will not receive rings at all.
Phishing Test Adds Insult to Injury
Somehow, the situation gets worse. Via The Athletic: Those Madison Square Garden employees had their hopes raised at the end of September when the Knicks sent an email to a long list of employees, giving recipients a first glimpse at their would-be championship rings. At the top of the email, a copy of which The Athletic 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."
Employees were given a choice between "Championship Gold" and "Garden Classic." The only problem was that whichever option 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.
For those wondering why the Knicks would do something like that, a report from Pablo Torre and Wired discussing Dolan's security concerns might provide context. Not that it makes this make any sense to a normal person.
Originally reported by yahoo.