“Despicable!” – Knicks Fan Rich Reacts to Team Using Lure of Rings to Phish Its Own Employees

Rich has spent his whole life as a Knicks fan, and he has a long, complicated history with the man who owns them. A report in The Athletic just sent him right back down the rabbit hole.

How Rich fell back in love

For newer viewers, Rich laid out the backstory. When Charles Oakley was dragged out of Madison Square Garden while James Dolan watched, Rich said he couldn't fathom rooting for the Knicks anymore. Part of the reason Oakley was dragged out, he said, was an argument between the two men. "I'm like, this man is petty."

Rich used to go down what he called "a Dolan wormhole," where he would get caught up and couldn't get out, and all he wanted to do "was just eviscerate this man from this microphone." Neil deGrasse Tyson later came on the show and informed him that wasn't the proper term.

Then Julius Randle arrived, and then Jalen Brunson, and the native New Yorker who has rooted for the Knicks "since basically birth" got pulled back in. Last year's magical run followed. Dolan's speech to the team went viral. "It's all one big happy family," Rich said.

He had raved on the show about the ring and banner ceremony, which he called remarkable, right down to the video of the banner traveling around the city. "I'm getting goosebumps just recalling it again right now," he said.

The empty boxes

At the ceremony, Knicks of the '70s handed out the rings, with the great Clyde Frazier presenting the players theirs. Then came the overnight reporting. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, the boxes handed to the assistant coaches had nothing in them.

Citing seven league sources, Vardon reported the assistants learned earlier that Tuesday they would not be getting rings that night, which came as no surprise since they hadn't even been fitted. The empty boxes were a late addition to the ceremony. Leon Rose, the man who put this whole thing together, had a ring in his box. The Athletic could not immediately verify whether head coach Mike Brown received his.

Rich was willing to give that part some grace. The same article noted that Oklahoma City Thunder assistants and some executives didn't get their rings on opening night last season either. "It's happened before," he said. "Takes time, whatever."

The phishing email

What he could not let go was the next part, which he said shows "why leopards cannot change their spots."

Madison Square Garden employees received an email, a copy of which The Athletic obtained, reading: "Congratulations, your employee championship ring is here." It promised a complimentary employee ring, "the same jeweler, the same craftsmanship, personalized with your name, no cost to you," with two designs to choose from, Championship Gold and Garden Classic.

It was a fake-out. A phishing test.

According to the report, employees who clicked the link didn't get to choose any jewelry. Instead, they were sent to a mandatory cybersecurity class to help satisfy Dolan's growing cybersecurity concerns.

"The man's phishing his own employees with a bait of a championship ring," Rich said. "Can you be any worse of an employer? Can you be any lower than that? I say no."

He then reassured his own staff. "The emails I send you if we ever win an Emmy, okay? You can click safely."

Beyond the pale

Rich drew a clear line between the two stories. Late rings for assistants happen. Sending a phishing email built on a championship ring "is absolutely beyond the pale."

He imagined the message employees actually received. "Hey, you're not getting a ring, but guess what? You will have the benefit of knowing we're going to be locked down with all these rogue AI agents out there. We're not getting hacked as an organization."

What bothered him most was who got targeted. These are the people who produced the ceremony Rich had just finished praising. "When they are doing outstanding work like that ring ceremony on behalf of James Dolan and the brand that they have built together," Rich said, "that, if true, is so odious and despicable."

The crew picked up on the trap built into it. As Rich described it, the answer to which ring you want is neither, "but you just proved to us you're untrustworthy when you get emails."

"It's warped and twisted," he said. His message to the Garden staff: "I'm sorry to hear it. And great job, though. You're doing a great job for the boss. I'm sitting at home crying over your work."