An NBA team has apologized for pretending to give a young fan a PlayStation 5 and then taking it away off-camera during a recent game.
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The incident happened on Monday, Dec. 16, at the Charlotte Hornets’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Several young fans were called to the court to receive Christmas presents from the Hornets’ mascot, Hugo.
However, shortly after Hugo, dressed as Santa Claus, gave a 13-year-old boy named Jack the PlayStation 5, one of the NBA team’s staffers took it back.
Alexei Phillips, Jack’s uncle and a Hornets season ticket holder, revealed to Queen City News that they left the Spectrum Center without the PlayStation 5.
“I was texting with a few friends of mine and sent them the video,” Philips told the media outlet. “They were like, ‘Oh Jack got a PlayStation 5, that’s awesome. I had to kind of explain to them that actually, no, they took it back.”
Recalling how his nephew got on the court in the first place, Philips said, “Someone from their fan team kind of reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, do you guys want to be on the court with Hugo?’ and we said, ‘Sure.’”
Philips said he did not receive any information until right before the teen went to the court. A Hornets staffer told him the kids would be unable to keep the presents.
“They just said they’re not going to keep what they get. However, they’re going to get a jersey afterward,” Phillips said.
Philips continued by stating he didn’t quite understand what was going on. No one had the opportunity to tell Jack he couldn’t keep the PlayStation 5.
The NBA Team Addresses the PlayStation 5 Incident
The Charlotte Hornets addressed what had happened just after the incident made headlines.
“During last night’s game, there was an on-court skit that missed the mark,” the NBA team’s statement read. “The skit included bad decision-making and poor communication. Simply put, we turned the ball over, and we apologize. We have reached out to the family and are committed to not only making it right but to exceeding expectations.”
The team then shared that they would send the PlayStation 5 to the teen after all.
Jack’s uncle confirmed that the NBA team had contacted the family.
Although there are no hard feelings about what happened, Philips said he believed the Hornets could have avoided the “sting” by not making it seem as though the kids on the court were getting the gifts.
“The funny thing is, if he had just gone out in the first place and they just gave him a jersey out there on the court, he would have been stoked,” Philips said.