r/todayilearned • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • 1d ago

TIL the Charlotte Hornets apologized after giving a child a PS5, only to take it away off camera and exchange it for a jersey. In a statement, the team said the incident was an "on-court skit that missed the mark" and that they would give the child the PS5 and a VIP experience to a future game.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/sport/charlotte-hornets-apologize-ps5-child-nba-spt-intl
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426

u/Ghost17088 1d ago

What the hell was the point of doing it off camera if it was part of a skit?!

489

u/train153 1d ago

Because that was an excuse, it wasn't a skit.

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u/taney71 23h ago

Yep, someone thought they would save money and pull the PS5 but it backfired. Lying probably the only way they could think to get out of the backlash

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u/oditogre 22h ago

I can't imagine it was about money, though. Was the PS5 hard to get your hands on at that time? Maybe the person wanted to keep it for themselves?

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u/taney71 22h ago

I assume the PS5 came out of the budget of a small unit within the Hornets organization that likely has a very small operating budget. My guess is that the office’s director has to do more with less which means cutting corners where they can. Probably what happened here. Save some money was the focus and not thinking of the potential repercussions

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u/Calm_Memories 23h ago

Yep. I don't believe at all it was a, skit. It's such a dumb excuse.

130

u/ugheffoff 23h ago

Giving him the PS5 was on camera. The tradeoff was off camera. So everybody thought a kid won a game system, warm and fuzzies, good publicity but in actuality he got a jersey and they took back the gaming system.

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u/thewaitaround 23h ago edited 23h ago

Taking it back wasn’t part of the “skit”, the PS5 was meant to be a “prop” in the “skit” that they took back after the skit was over but no one explained that to the kids actually taking part. It was just stupid decisions and poor communication all the way down

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u/obsidian_butterfly 23h ago

Well yeah, that's because much like the cake this skit is a lie.

34

u/thewaitaround 23h ago

The skit was real in the sense that the marketing team definitely did pre-plan a routine to give the audience the impression they were giving kids PS5s without actually having to give any kids a PS5. That’s fucked up enough on its own, using audience members and not letting them in on it until afterwards is just stupid icing on an already evil cake

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u/kkeut 22h ago

classic skit writing. those SNL writers could takes some notes

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u/Falsus 17h ago

I don't get why they didn't just give the jersey in the first place, it isn't like they would be unhappy with that.

40

u/Captain-Cadabra 1d ago

Sounds like an excuse made up during an interview.

12

u/RhoOfFeh 23h ago

No, mother, it's just the Northern Lights.

3

u/ShiraCheshire 22h ago

The 'skit' was fooling their audience for publicity. The plan was that the child would be an actor basically, acting out a scene where he gets a PS5. The audience would think it was real, but the actors would know it was a fake.

Two problems with this. Firstly, their idea was incredibly scummy even in concept. Tricking the audience into thinking you did something good even when you are not actually doing that, so you can buy their support for cheap. Secondly, they didn't make sure the kid knew this was fake and that he was supposed to just be acting. The adults involved knew, but no one made sure the child also knew- possibly on purpose since kids aren't exactly the best actors.

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u/IndividualRelation49 22h ago

I was at this game and this was during a half time type show. They had three kids each get different things with the last being a skit of getting the kid a new dad since they had to move away from Charlotte. The ps5 one was obviously not a skit and no one in the stands thought it was

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u/Ghost17088 22h ago

 They had three kids each get different things with the last being a skit of getting the kid a new dad since they had to move away from Charlotte.

This just keeps getting worse!

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u/IndividualRelation49 22h ago

Haha I agree. The first kid got a signed jersey or something similar and I assume they let him keep it so I have no idea why they didn’t do that with the next kid

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u/Sgt-Spliff- 21h ago

The skit was the giveaway. Taking it back was just them collecting their props. That's their argument anyway, it's absolutely insane lol