This Basketball Club Apologizes After Taking PS5 Back For Fans

PS5 illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/BeatEmUps)

JAKARTA - NBA basketball club Charlotte Hornets apologized for the game in a game where a young fan was given PlayStation 5 (PS5) but was later taken back.

The incident occurred during the second quarter of the match against Philadelphia 76ers last Monday, when Hugo, the mascot of the team dressed as Santa Claus, took a 13-year-old fan to the field.

After a letter to Santa Claus asking PS5 to be read out loudly, a cheersman gave the console, which triggered cheers from the audience and the joy that could be seen from the boy, quoted from The Guardian Dec. 23.

However, the excitement quickly evaporated when a member of the Hornets staff took back the console after the camera stopped recording and handed the shirt over to the boy instead, according to witnesses and a viral social media post. The confusion is said to have made the boy, his family, and even the team players dumbfounded.

Alexei Phillips, the boy's uncle and a seasonal ticket holder, told Queen City News the family had been approached by staff to participate in the play at the start of the match.

You guys want to see a cheap sports organization?

In this video my best friend&his nephew get called onto court for a special segment where they gift the kid a PS5 publicly… w/cameras off they TOOK IT AWAY and gave him a jersey.

😂 Take a bow @hornets… crushed the kid pic.twitter.com/mcj5hhsuM5

— USMNT_STAN (@StanUsmnt) December 17, 2024

You guys want to see a chemical sports organization?

In this video my best friend &his nephew got called on to court for a special segment where they gave the Gift the kid a PS5 publicly ... w / Cameras off they TOOK IT AWAY and gave him a jersey.

Take a bow @hornets... washed the kid pic.twitter.com/mcj5hhsuM5

While Phillips was secretly told moments before the play, the boy would not keep the PS5, this important detail was not shared with his nephew.

"Everyone thought he kept her a cheers driver, dancer, everyone," said Phillips.

"When they took it, people thought it was a joke. Then they realized it wasn't true," he continued.

The incident sparked outrage on social media, after an observer's post about the play garnered more than 3.4 million views on Tuesday night. Fans also criticized the Hornets for the incident.

Hornets issued a public apology on Tuesday, acknowledging their mistakes.

"During last night's match there was a play on the pitch that missed the target," the team said in a statement. "Sandiwara is a bad decision-making and poor communication. Simply put, we lost the ball and we apologize," the statement continued.

Tim berjanji untuk memperbaikan kesalahan dengan memberi boy itu PS5 yang dijanjikan, bersama dengan pengalaman VIP di pertandingan mendatang.

Phillips said the Hornets had contacted him and his nephew, and expressed regret for the accident.

"There is no bad feeling," he said.

"However, this could have been avoided if they immediately gave him a shirt on the pitch. He would have been happy."

It is known that the Hornets themselves lost 121-108 to the Sixers in the match.