A day after receiving criticism for an on-court skit in which a child was gifted a PlayStation 5 then had it taken away once the cameras were off, the Charlotte Hornets apologized and announced in a statement that the child will receive the PS5, as well as a VIP experience at a future game.
At reported by Yahoo Sports, the skit that "missed the mark" occurred in a break in play during the second quarter of Charlotte's game Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers . The child was brought onto the court with Hugo, the Hornets' mascot, dressed as Santa Claus. After a letter to Santa requesting a PS5 was read out loud, a cheerleader came out with a bag containing the video game console.
According to Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports, the young fan was visibly overjoyed as he received the pricy gift. However, according to an online acquaintance, he was less happy when the cameras turned off and a Hornets staffer took it away, replacing it with a jersey.
The cheerleader and other people around were reportedly also confused when the PS5 was confiscated, Baer reported. The child's uncle was apparently informed he wouldn't get to keep the gift, but not the child himself.
"Even in the most charitable of lenses, an NBA organization doing a skit in which it pretends to be generous to children is a bizarre look," Baer wrote. "The team was sold last year for approximately $3 billion, and its in-house entertainment department just had to pretend it had a spare $450-$500 (less if it got a Black Friday deal).
"This was all very avoidable, but the child will at least get what he wanted. Meanwhile, the Hornets went on to lose 121-108 to the short-handed Sixers. Their record sits at 7-19."
Here is the Hornets' full statement:
During last night's game there was an on-court skit that missed the mark. 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. We will be providing the fan with the PS5 that he should have taken home last night along with a VIP experience to a future game. Our goal is and will remain to elevate the guest experience for every person that enters Spectrum Center, and to show our fans how much we appreciate their relentless support.
