The internet may have been delighted when a boy ran onto the Smoothie King Center court during a game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans to hug Carmelo Anthony, but it reflected a real breakdown in security that would understandably upset the people running the arena.
In the wake of that event, the Smoothie King Center has announced that it’s cut ties with two employees they identified as responsible. The spot in the stands through which the boy ran was supposed to be covered by an usher and a New Orleans police officer. The usher has been fired and the officer will no longer work Pelicans games, and the remaining staff have all been drilled about the proper procedure.
This sort of fallout is exactly what we thought about as the kid was running out, besides the obvious “awww.” As cute as the moment was, the arena is doing exactly what it has to do, because there’s always the chance that someone with more guile and worse intentions than a child will wish to make it onto the court, and people need to be ready. Just no one tell that kid that he got someone fired with his stunt — it’s really not his fault.
