yahoo - 6/10/2026 2:05:36 AM - GMT (+2 )
Following their nail-biting loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, Knicks fans gathered outside of Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, June 9, to cleanse the arena with sage.
President Donald Trump, a New York City native, made an appearance at Madison Square Garden on Monday for Game 3. Fans who were in attendance were forced to arrive at the area about two hours before the start of the game and had to wait in long, TSA-style security lines.
Once inside, Trump was greeted with a chorus of loud boos when he was shown on the large video screens during the national anthem. The president was saluting and smiled slightly as the boos grew. Once the feed showed Knicks players, the cheering returned.
After their 111-115 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, which snapped a 13-game win streak, Knicks fans accused Trump of placing a “curse” on the team, prompting a “cleanse” to try to change the Knicks’ fortunes ahead of a potentially series-altering Game 4 on Wednesday, June 10.
Kazeem Famuyide, an Emmy award-winning host of several podcasts, including the Knicks podcast, Big Apple Buckets, called on Knicks fans to join him outside of the arena for a cleanse on Tuesday.
"All Knicks fans meet in front of MSG at 1:30 PM and bring your sage," he wrote on X. “We gotta clean this bih out before Wednesday."
Following that initial post, Famuyide followed up with a video, several hours later, showing him and his friends holding sage outside of Madison Square Garden.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Trump is not expected to attend Game 4 due to “scheduling conflicts and obligations.”
USA TODAY’s Mark Giannotto and Lorenzo Reyes contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Following Game 3 loss, Knicks fans 'cleanse' MSG after Trump's visit
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