MSG ring phishing test

Sports · Heat 2.7 / 10 · 4 shows · 26m airtime

At the end of September 2026, Madison Square Garden emailed employees offering a complimentary personalized Knicks championship ring, with two designs to choose from, championship gold and garden classic. The email was a phishing test: those who clicked were sent to mandatory cybersecurity training and did not get real rings. Reporting has since established the email came from an MSG phishing domain, msg.phishing.com, adding a detail to how the test was run. Hosts call the test cruel but fair game.

How 4 podcasts covered it

1. The Rich Eisen Show, 2026-10-23 (38:35 to 44:16)
   Rails on the Knicks over the phishing test
   Rails on Dolan and the Knicks over the phishing test, reading the ring email's two designs and the mandatory cybersecurity class straight from The Athletic's story. Adds the empty assistant boxes and the Oklahoma City precedent, but stays inside the reporting already on the record.
2. TBPN, 2026-10-23 (23:07 to 29:17)
   Debates whether the MSG phishing test was fair
   Takes up The Athletic's report on MSG's fake championship ring phishing test and argues over whether it was fair, given that many employees were never getting real rings. Reaction and debate, with the phishing domain as the one detail checked.
   New angle: The phishing email came from an MSG phishing domain, msg.phishing.com.
3. TBPN, 2026-10-23 (19:51 to 24:58)
   Relays the fake ring phishing test
   Relays The Athletic's report on MSG's fake championship-ring phishing test and the employees who clicked into cybersecurity class, then debates whether the stunt was fair game given that many longtime staff get no real ring.
   New angle: MSG's fake ring email offered two designs, championship gold and garden classic, and clickers were sent to mandatory cybersecurity training.
4. Nightcap, 2026-10-24 (17:42 to 23:09)
   Retells the phishing-test report
   Retells the phishing-test report: the fake ring email, the two designs, the mandatory cybersecurity class, and the assistant coaches who went without rings on banner night. The rest is locker-room talk about who normally gets a ring.
5. The Best One Yet, 2026-10-26 (5:41 to 9:09)
   Recounts the fake ring email and its fallout
   Recounts banner night at the Garden and the empty ring boxes, then reads the fake complimentary-ring email and lays out the punishment: cybersecurity training and no ring for staff who clicked, reportedly ordered by James Dolan. Closes with the Cubs' Bartman and Red Sox's Nomar as contrast.
   New angle: Staff who clicked the fake ring email were denied championship rings and sent to mandatory cybersecurity training.