The Washington Wizards apologized Thursday for an April Fools’ “skit” in which a planted fan was seemingly tricked into believing he made a half-court shot for $10,000, saying the entire bit was scripted but that they “missed the mark.”
During a game break in the Wizards’ 153-131 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday — Washington’s fourth straight loss and 20th in its past 21 games — the “fan” tried a blindfolded half-court shot that missed wildly over the backboard.
The team and the mascots on the court celebrated as if the shot went in and the fan won the money. Then, the team cruelly showed a replay of the missed shot, and announced that the fan didn’t actually win $10,000.
Before the Wizards revealed the stunt was all made up, backlash began on social media. Some noted it was inappropriate for the Wizards to mislead a fan who presumably paid to watch the team, particularly during an NBA-worst season that will keep Washington out of the playoffs for the fifth straight year.
“This is an insane thing to do to someone who willingly attends a Wizards game,” one fan wrote. “Imagine getting trolled by the worst team in the league,” another wrote.
“We apologize for last night’s April Fools’ joke that left many wondering if we had misled a fan,” the Wizards said. “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.”
The Wizards went on to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers, 153-131 — dropping Washington’s record to an impressively bad 17-59.