The Charlotte Hornets NBA team performed an ill-received half time skit in its game against the Philadelphia 76ers this week, when it pretended to give a child a PlayStation 5 before taking it away when the cameras stopped rolling.
As reported by Kotaku, the Hornets organization has since apologized for what it called "bad decision making" and given the child a PS5 for real alongside promising a VIP experience at a future game. Karma quickly caught up with Charlotte on the night, as they lost to Philadelphia 121 to 108.
X/Twitter user @StanUsmnt raised the issue, calling Charlotte "a cheap sports organization" and saying the move "crushed the kid."
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
The skit was part of a presentation where the Charlotte mascot Hugo presented children brought on court with gifts from their Christmas lists, and a dancer eventually presented the boy with the PS5.
The Hornets told WCNC sports director Nick Carboni that it "missed the mark" and is currently in the process of making it right. "Simply put, we turned the ball over and we apologized," it said.
"We have reached out to the family and we 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."
This response came after the video from @StanUsmnt amassed more than four million views, another loss for a struggling Hornets team with a seven wins to 19 losses season.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
