Talk about an intentional foul.
A younger Charlotte Hornets fan thought he was receiving a Christmas want when he was gifted a coveted PlayStation 5 in entrance of a raucous crowd throughout Monday evening’s recreation, however was crushed when the workforce took the online game console away from him backstage moments later.
Alexei Phillips advised Queen City News, a neighborhood information station, that he took his 13-year-old nephew to see the Hornets play the Philadelphia 76ers. At the beginning of the sport, a member of the Hornets workers approached them and requested in the event that they wished to be on the courtroom with the workforce’s mascot, Hugo, he mentioned.
“Someone from their fan workforce type of reached out to us and mentioned, ‘Hey, do you guys wanna be on the courtroom with Hugo?’ And we mentioned positive,” he advised the station.
A video posted on social media reveals Phillips and his nephew standing on the courtroom subsequent to Hugo wearing a Santa costume. An announcer then reads what seems to be a Christmas letter.
“I’ve one other letter right here. It says, ‘Dear Santa Hugo, I’ve been working onerous in class all 12 months … I’ve additionally been engaged on my soar shot however my soar shot in [NBA] 2K wants some work. I actually desire a PlayStation if in case you have one, P.S. a PlayStation 5.”
It’s unclear if Phillips’ nephew wrote the letter, however a Hornets’ dancer walks out onto the courtroom carrying a big present bag with a PS5 in it. The teen is visibly excited as Hugo arms him the present.
“Happy holidays, pal,” the announcer says.
According to Phillips, the vacation cheer ended the second they walked backstage. A Hornets’ staffer got here and shortly took the PS5 away.
“It bought fairly awkward,” he advised the information station. “Because [the staffer] needed to make it clear he wasn’t joking.”
Phillips advised the information station that proper earlier than he went out onto the courtroom together with his nephew, the staffer whispered to him that the teenager wouldn’t be capable of preserve the present and would get a jersey as a substitute.
The Hornets later described the incident as an “on-court skit that missed the mark.” The workforce reached out to Phillips and his nephew’s dad and mom and provided the teenager a PS5 in addition to a VIP expertise to a different recreation.
“The skit included unhealthy determination making and poor communication,” the workforce mentioned in an announcement to information retailers. “Simply put, we turned the ball over and we apologize. We have reached out to the household and are dedicated to not solely making it proper however to exceeding expectations. … Our aim is and can stay to raise the visitor expertise for each person who enters Spectrum Center, and to indicate our followers how a lot we admire their relentless help.”
Phillips mentioned there aren’t any onerous emotions towards the workforce.
“The humorous factor is, if he had simply gone out within the first place and so they simply gave him a jersey on the market on the courtroom, he would have been stoked, ,” he advised the station.
