NBA team the Charlotte Hornets screwed up and needs to apologize after recently giving a young fan a PlayStation 5 console during a Christmas halftime skit and then taking the console away after the cameras were turned off. The team is also giving the fan a PS5, which he can keep this time too.
On December 16, during a basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets, young fans were brought onto the court to greet the team's cheerleaders and mascot. During the courtroom, a woman read her Christmas letters to Santa and handed out presents. A child who worked Really This year it's hard to get good grades, I wanted one PlayStation 5 Console. And that's what the boy got. You can see how happy he is in the video below. This video also claims that the employees took away the PS5 after halftime and replaced it with a jersey.
Boston 25 explained that cheerleaders and others involved in the halftime event were reportedly confused when staff took the child's PS5 gift away. Apparently the child's uncle, likely the adult in the gray and blue hoodie in the video above, knew in advance that the gift would be taken away and did not pass this information on to his nephew.
As you might expect, it didn't go over well online that a billionaire team took away a child's Christmas present after pretending to give it to him on camera. People rightly called out the team and its staff for the terrible prank, and within 24 hours the Hornets apologized.
On Tuesday, the team said its “on-court skit…missed the mark” and blamed it on “poor decision-making and poor communication.”
“Simply put, we turned the ball over and apologized. We reached out to the family and are committed to not only doing everything right, but also exceeding expectations.” the team said in a statement shared by reporter Nick Carboni.
“We will give the fan the PS5 they were supposed to take home last night, along with a VIP experience for a future game.” Our goal is and remains to enhance the guest experience for every person who enters the Spectrum Center. to improve and show our fans how much we appreciate their tireless support.”
And in case you're wondering, the Hornets received karmic justice on Monday night after taking the kid's PS5 away. The team lost 121-108 to the Sixers.
