‘An unfortunate mistake’: Knicks admit error in using championship rings as phishing bait

The New York Knicks’ parent company says it is giving out more than $3.7 million worth of championship rings and jewelry after acknowledging an “unfortunate mistake” of using an offer of free rings to lure employees into a cybersecurity test.

As first reported by The Athletic, the email said employees were eligible for a free Knicks championship ring. Instead, clicking on the offer earned them a mandatory cybersecurity training, the outlet reported.

“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,” Madison Square Garden Sports said in a statement. “MSG was recently hacked and extorted using an employee login and password obtained through a similar phishing attack.”

The company said it is giving players, coaches, employees and others in the Knicks organization more than 275 rings and pieces of jewelry worth more than $3.7 million.

NFL Network host Rich Eisen criticized Knicks owner James L. Dolan over the email on his show, saying: “The man is phishing his own employees with a bait of a championship ring. Can you be any worse of an employer? Can you be any lower than that?”

The Athletic also reported that Knicks assistant coaches were handed empty boxes during the ring ceremony ahead of the Knicks’ first game of the season on Tuesday. The assistants had been told earlier that day they would not receive their rings that evening but would get them eventually, according to the outlet.