Police Officer and Usher Fired After Child Hugs Carmelo Anthony on Court
After a child ran onto the court to hug New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on March 28, action was taken Monday against two people involved in the security breakdown.
According to John Reid of the Times-Picayune, an usher was fired and a police officer was informed that he will no longer be used at Pelicans games.
As seen in this Vine, the child rushed onto the court toward Anthony unimpeded during the fourth quarter of the contest:
While the situation wasn't ultimately dangerous, Smoothie King Center general manager Alan Freeman stressed the importance of making sure that similar incidents don't occur in the future, per Reid:
"We were visited by the head of the NBA security for a routine visit and he happened to be in town shortly after this incident. We reviewed with him our entire floor deployment for ushers and security and we told him about the two additional positions we were adding and he was completely happy with it. We've been blessed by the NBA on our security plans, we just have to make sure our people do their jobs.
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Melo also commented on the matter after it happened, and while he wasn't upset due to the fact that a child was involved, he noted that it was a "security issue," according to ESPN.com.
Although the incident ended up being lighthearted, it could have been far worse had someone with bad intentions been allowed to run onto the court instead.
The Pelicans and those involved with security at the Smoothie King Center are well aware of that, and their action against the usher and officer suggests they won't tolerate similar events in the future due to the potential danger that comes along with them.
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