Unbeknownst to the kid, the Hornets were only pretending to give him a console.
The skit that "missed the mark" occurred in a break in play during the second quarter of Charlotte's game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. The child was brought onto the court with Hugo, the Hornets' mascot, dressed as Santa Claus. After a letter to Santa requesting a PS5 was read out loud, a cheerleader came out with a bag containing the video game console.
The young fan was visibly overjoyed as he received the pricy gift. However, according to an online acquaintance, he was less happy when the cameras turned off and a Hornets staffer took it away, replacing it with a jersey.
I mean I would get it if they had an empty box out on the court for the show, and then having to take away the empty show box... But they gave the kid a jersey instead? Wtf?
Pretty sure they are saying use an empty box on the court (lighter, no risk of breaking), and then take away the empty box afterwards (implied to give them an actual, not-empty box afterwards).