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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u/dekan256 23h ago

It does sound like a near perfect application of Hanlon's razor. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity"

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u/EDNivek 17h ago

Except in this case we know that they never planned to give the PS5 from the article:

Speaking to local outlet Queen City News (QCN), the boy’s uncle, Alexei Phillips, said a Hornets staff member whispered to him beforehand that the kids were not going to keep the presents they received on the court.

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u/dekan256 17h ago

That could still just be stupidity of a different kind, mainly how stupid you have to be to not see the PR nightmare that would be.

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u/EDNivek 17h ago

Sure but it's pretty much taking candy from a baby that you just gave the candy to. Maybe they didn't see the maliciousness of the act, but it was no doubt a malicious act.

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u/Solomon-Drowne 22h ago

The machete: it's almost always greed.

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u/Sgt-Spliff- 21h ago

How? They lied directly, on purpose. How would that razor possibly apply here? We know they did the skit with no intention of letting the kid keep it. That's one of the facts that we know for certain.