Vivek Ramaswamy turned away from entering Knicks' restricted area at Cavs' playoff blowout: Report

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Vivek Ramaswamy’s date night at Rocket Arena on Monday, May 25, was not only mortified by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bull-dozing loss against the New York Knicks, but also by another embarrassing moment.

The Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate was allegedly turned away from the Knicks’ locker room while trying to make a campaign moment of the loss.

Vivek Ramaswamy apparently tried to turn his appearance into a campaign opportunity

The New York Knicks steamrolled the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 on Monday, completing a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals and securing the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance in 27 years.

The former DOGE chief was among the crowd at Rocket Arena for the high-stakes showdown, having shared a photo with his wife, Apoorva Ramaswamy, on X (formerly Twitter) earlier that evening, captioned, “Date night in Cleveland. Let’s go, Cavs…all the way back!”

However, the date night didn’t go as planned, as Ramaswamy witnessed the Cavaliers suffering a 37-point loss from his courtside seats, which cost at least $60,000.

Another setback for the Republican candidate apparently came when he tried to seize the opportunity to turn his appearance into a campaign moment.

According to the Rooster, a publication by Ohio politico DJ Byrnes, Ramaswamy tried to enter the Knicks’ restricted area after the game, as he declared he was “running for governor of Ohio and wanted to welcome everyone to Ohio.”

However, Knicks security quickly shut the door on that plan, with an official telling him to turn around as he “didn’t have access to the area,” the publication reported.

Ramaswamy was reportedly visibly “flustered” after the embarrassment and snuck away from the area.

This was not the only embarrassing moment he faced that day. Earlier in the night, another security guard turned him away as he attempted to park near the Cavs ownership and players.

Vivek Ramaswamy bashes the report as '100% fake'

The conservative firebrand vehemently denied the account, calling it “obviously 100% fake, originally fabricated by a leftist blogger.”

“The whole thing is dumb, to be clear. But it’s dirty, it happens repeatedly, and the public is better off knowing about it. It’s why sane people rarely go into politics. Anyone who does should probably have their own head checked out (including me),” he wrote on X.

The Republican candidate clarified that he didn’t try to enter the Knicks’ locker room not only due to the sheer humiliation that his team faced on the court, but also explained how, as a sports fan, doing that would hurt his heart.

“My team sensibly told me not to dignify it by commenting on it. Politically, they’re probably right. But if every leader were to follow that advice, it rewards the incentives for bad actors to lie not just about me, but about others in the future, too. Call me idealistic, but I don’t think that’s how things are supposed to work,” he added.