The Charlotte Hornets are apologizing after an in-game promotion skit in which a lucky teenager got a PlayStation 5 — and then it was later taken away.
The mix-up happened on Monday, Dec. 16 during the Hornets-Philadelphia 76ers game when a few young fans were called to the court to receive Christmas presents from Hugo, the Hornets mascot.
But shortly after Hugo — dressed as Santa Claus — gave the 13-year-old named Jack the game system in front of the fans at Spectrum Center, it was taken back, his nephew Alexei Phillips told Fox affiliate WJZY-TV.
“At this point, everybody thinks that Jack is going to get this PS5, including all the dancers, all the cheerleaders, everybody basically like, starts congratulating him,” Phillips said. “There was even a Hornets dancer who actually gave him the PS5… she starts to pack it up for him in the bag.”
He continued, “Then we get kind of like all the way to the backstage and, you know, the guy who kind of found us in the first place, he starts to kind of take it away. And everybody thinks he’s joking because nobody would think he’d be taking the PS5 from the kid.”
In a video shared on X by a user who identified himself as Phillips’ best friend, the gift-giving moment went viral, and prompted commenters to call into question why the team reneged on the PS5.
“They just said they’re not going to keep what they get, however, they’re going to get a jersey afterward,” Phillips told the news station.
On Tuesday, the Hornets apologized for the miscue, saying in a statement that the on-court skit “missed the mark.”
“The skit included bad decision making and poor communication,” the Hornets statement read.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The statement continued, “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 franchise added that it will be making sure Jack has a Merry Christmas after all.
“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,” the team wrote.
Read the full article here
