NBA fans have ripped into the Washington Wizards after they played a cruel April Fools’ Day prank on an unsuspecting fan.
On Wednesday night, during their 153-131 defeat by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Wizards called up a fan to attempt a blindfolded half-court shot to win $10,000.
In a clip that has since gone viral on social media, the fan was seen having his blindfold tied by one of the Wizards mascots before attempting the shot.
His attempt flew high over the basket and, in truth, was nowhere near making it. However, the reaction from the mascots and announcers told a different story.
Before the fan could even think, he was swarmed by the mascots who all cheered as though he’d made the shot, while the announcer called out: ‘Somebody’s rich!’
However, his humiliation didn’t end there. As the fan soaked in the celebrations, he was made to pose with a check for $10,000 while a replay was shown on screen.
A Washington Wizards fan was cruelly tricked into thinking he won $10,000 on Wednesday
As part of an April Fools’ Day prank, the fan attempted a blindfolded half-court shot. He was tricked into thinking that the shot went in and that he’d won the $10,000 prize money
However, it was revealed that his shot missed – making him the laughing stock of the arena
The Wizards announcer continued with the cruel joke up until the point where his effort flew past the basket on the replay, much to the dejection of the fan.
The smile was quickly wiped off the fan’s face as he was left bewildered by the prank, while the mascots appeared to laugh at his expense.
Once reality had set in, the fan appeared to take the prank well and was offered an autographed jersey and courtside tickets for next season as compensation.
However, that didn’t stop social media users from ripping into the team for the prank.
Taking to X, one fan wrote: ‘This is an insane thing to do to someone who willingly attended a Wizards game.’
‘That’s not funny. That’s just cruel,’ another wrote on the social media platform.
‘The high he must have felt and then the immediate drop off must have been devastating. He’s never gonna forget this moment,’ another wrote.
The Wizards released a statement on Thursday apologizing for the incident and revealed that the fan was actually in on the act
Amid the fan backlash, the Wizards later released a statement addressing the matter and revealed that the contestant was in on the act.
A statement released on Thursday afternoon read: ‘We apologize for last night’s April Fools’ joke that left many wondering if we had misled a fan.
‘The skit involving our mascot and other members of our performance team was scripted and intended to celebrate the day.
‘All participants were in on the joke, but we missed the mark. Our fans are our priority, and we continue to be committed to providing a positive experience to all who attend our games.’
