Deisy Leads Knicks Fans in Sage Ritual After Trump Visit
Knicks fans outside Madison Square Garden burned copal and sage at 3 p.m. Wednesday, trying to clear the air before Game 4 after Donald Trump’s Monday night visit and the Knicks’ Game 3 loss. Deisy led the ritual and said the space had carried bad energy since Monday.
Deisy at Madison Square Garden
“We’re saging the Madison!” Deisy said outside the arena, where several New Yorkers gathered with copal and sage ahead of Game 4 of the Knicks vs. Spurs NBA Finals. She said, “We had really bad energy in this space on Monday. MAGA Mussolini was here — and we gotta get rid of that energy!”
Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend the NBA Finals on Monday night, when thousands of fans booed him as he appeared on the Jumbotron during the National Anthem. Videos then circulated showing him seeming to doze off while seated next to New York Knicks owner James Dolan and his granddaughter, Kai Trump. The White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismissed claims that Trump was asleep.
Barriers Around Madison Square Garden
The reaction outside the building also reflected the hard edge of the security setup around the game. A 12-block barrier blocked entry to anyone without a game ticket or business specific to that area on Monday night, and hundreds of NYPD officers and security personnel enforced it.
That barrier hit the neighborhood around the Garden, not just the fan base. Sadat, who sells Knicks merchandise outside the perimeter, said the barricades hurt business “absolutely,” and fans blamed Trump for the bad voodoo and weird energy after the Knicks started the series with a 2-0 lead and then lost Game 3.
Watch Party Canceled
Madison Square Garden requested a watch party permit for 500 to 999 fans for Game 4, and the city approved one for 999 fans before James Dolan canceled it. Zohran Mamdani wrote that “Mr. Dolan has now decided to cancel the watch party” and added, “I know this is breaking hearts across our city, but if there’s one thing Knicks fans don’t need permission for, it’s showing up for our team wherever we may be — no matter the block or the borough. Knicks in five.”
Avery, another Knicks fan outside the Garden, held a sign and said, “He’s a curse to every team that he picks.” He added, “He picked the Chiefs to win. They lost. He went to a Mets game. They lost. He went to the Knicks game, picked them to win. We lost.”
