The Knicks’ Short-Lived Championship Ring Saga Has a Happy Ending

Don’t call it a heist: The Knicks are giving championship rings to their employees, after all.

Earlier this week, a report from The Athletic revealed that the organization gave empty, ring-less boxes to its assistant coaches during Tuesday’s banner-lifting ceremony at Madison Square Garden. Days after that reportedly unwelcome surprise, an MSG Sports spokesperson announced the franchise’s intentions to honor its coaches, employees and “other members of the Knicks family” with championship rings, as presumably was always the plan.

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“The company is gifting more than 275 championship rings and jewelry to players, coaches, employees and other members of the Knicks family, worth more than $3.7 million, in recognition of their contributions and celebrating this achievement,” the MSG Sports spokesperson said in a statement.

While it’s unfortunate that Knicks assistant coaches didn’t get their rings in time for the opening night championship ceremony, it’s arguably not that big of a deal and isn’t uncommon. It can take time and preparation to record the ring measurements of every person on any given coaching staff and then submit a custom order to get the jewelry made. Last season, assistants and some executives on the Thunder didn’t receive their rings on opening night, according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon.

MSG admits phishing email to employees about Knicks’ championship rings was the wrong move

What was less standard, however, was a email about championship rings sent to Madison Square Garden employees that turned out to be an online security test. In late September, several weeks before the championship ceremony, MSG’s staffers received a mass email which asked them to click on a link to reserve a ring.

Here’s what was in the email, per The Athletic:

“Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here.

“(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.

“There are two designs to choose from: Championship Gold and Garden Classic. Reserve the one you want below.”

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Employees who clicked on the ring design they wanted were left disappointed, as the link led them to a mandatory cybersecurity class instead. It was a cruel tactic deployed by MSG that stemmed from Knicks owner James Dolan’s growing cybersecurity concerns, per The Athletic.

MSG acknowledged that using the lure of championship rings in a phishing email test was “an unfortunate mistake.”

“The company had previously sent out an email to its corporate team as a simulation of a phishing attack designed to strengthen our security against hackers,” the MSG Sports spokesperson’s statement read. “MSG was recently hacked and extorted using an employee login and password obtained through a similar phishing attack. Using the rings as a lure to gain employees attention was an unfortunate mistake.”

Being late to deliver rings to assistant coaches is an understandable, though still frustrating, gaffe. The logistics of the task involves moving parts and scheduling preparations which, by no one’s fault in particular, can fall through the cracks and thus lead to delays.

But, intentionally sending an email about the Knicks’ championship rings—knowing that those corporate staffers might be expecting something in their inbox—under the guise of an elaborate cybersecurity “Gotcha!” test? That’s just a low blow. At the very least, MSG employees can take solace in the fact that they will get their victory bling after all, even if they did have to go through a rather unsavory ordeal.

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