During the Philadelphia 76ers vs. Charlotte Hornets game on December 16, a young fan was given a very special prize, however apparently it had all been for show, as they didn't let him keep the gift.
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The Hornets have now issued an apology for giving a kid a PS5, and then right away taking it back when the cameras turned off.
The 13-year-old recipient's uncle, Alexei Phillips, spoke with WJZY-TV of Charlotte, where he gave some background on the situation.
"Someone from their fan team kind of reached out to us and said, 'Hey, do you guys wanna be on the court with Hugo?' And we said sure."
In the actual viral video that was posted, Phillips and his nephew were standing next to the Hornets' mascot Hugo, who appeared to be dressed up as Santa.
Then an evidently fake letter was read to the crowd, in which the announcer narrated:
"I have another letter here. It says, 'Dear Santa Hugo, I've been working hard in school all year... I've also been working on my jump shot but my jump shot in [NBA] 2K needs some work. I really want a PlayStation if you have one, P.S. a PlayStation 5."
Soon after a PS5 was carried over to the kid by a Hornets cheerleader, and the announcer said, "Happy Holidays."
Except what happens next has caused a media nightmare for the organization, as right when they were off camera, the PS5 was swapped for a jersey.
After finding this out, many fans were upset that a billion-dollar organization couldn't let the kid keep the PS5.
Following the backlash of the Hornets' stinging the young fan, the team issued out a public apology statement:
"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."
All in all, as the uncle told reporters, this all could have been avoided if they just gave the boy a jersey in the first place, considering that would have made him more than happy.
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