Pelicans Arena Fires Usher, Makes Rest of Security Watch Monica Seles Video After Melo Hug

Late last month, a fan at the Knicks-Pelicans game in New Orleans ran onto the court and hugged Carmelo Anthony. Though Melo took the interruption in-stride, the Pelicans’ arena reacted swiftly. Per Nola.com, an usher who was apparently not at her position on the aisle was let go, and a police officer stationed in the “general area” will no longer work games. Further:

"As a result of the incident, [Superdome/Smoothie King Center general manager Alan] Freeman said the Smoothie King Center’s entire usher staff went through reinforcement training last week that included them having to watch the video of former tennis star Monica Seles when she was stabbed in her back in 1993 during an on-court attack during a tournament match in Hamburg, Germany. Seles survived the attack, but she did not return to play tennis for over two years."

Though this incident involved an exuberant young fan, it is scary to think what would have happened if somebody violent had replicated his path. Freeman said that the arena has hired two new police officers – one will be stationed at each end of the floor – and that, “[W]e just have to make sure our people do their jobs.”