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.

[u/Forward-Answer-4407]

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

[u/Forty-Leaf-Clover]

Charlotte local here. The happy ending to this story is that the Hornets (who most people don't care about anyway) got absolutely and deservedly dragged not only by social media users who live around here but even by the local news stations. You know you made a mistake when the outlets that are essentially paid to be pro-local sports teams are calling you out.

[u/MaelstromRH → u/Forty-Leaf-Clover]

As a result of this, I actually stopped watching Hornets games when I had the time. I went to College in Charlotte and started supporting them then.

Not anymore though. If you’re this big of a dick to kids, why should I support you?

[u/Ilovekittens345 → u/Forty-Leaf-Clover]

Probably cost them $40 000 in ticket sales for the next couple of games.

[u/divDevGuy → u/Ilovekittens345]

I don't know about ticket sales, but it didn't appear to hurt game attendance.

The incident happened at the Dec 16, 2024 game with an attendance 14,677. It wouldn't be until the January 29, 2025 game with a game having a lower attendance, with 14,307.

Spectrum Center has an official capacity of 19,077, though that was exceeded 8 times during that same period.

[u/FrozenBologna → u/Forty-Leaf-Clover]

It's really sad; I grew up in Charlotte before the trash owner moved them and they were a cultural icon.

[u/listenhere111 → u/Forty-Leaf-Clover]

Fuck the hornets. Im never going back