Pelicans lament ‘senseless act of violence’ after terrorist attack in New Orleans
The New Orleans Pelicans played their regular season game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in South Florida with a heavy heart as their city reeled from a terrorist attack that left more than a dozen people dead.
Pelicans coach, Willie Green, was one of those on the team talking about the attack that happened on the morning of New Year’s Day.
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Bourbon Street signs were displayed on the scoreboard at the Kaseya Center as a memorial to the people killed after a car plowed into a crowd in New Orleans before the NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Green said he was “devastated” by it. He said he found out about what happened in a New Year’s text from his father. The Pelicans play their home games at the Smoothie King Center – about one mile southwest of where the terrorist attack took place.
“It’s a senseless act of violence,” Green said. “We discussed it a bit with our players. But we live in times and in a world where you don’t know where you are safe.
“Schools, churches, people should come out and have fun and walk the streets. It’s very sad. And I can only imagine what those families are going through, what they have to face now for the rest of their lives. .”
Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III said he knew his mother was in town for New Year’s celebrations with her cook. He said he was afraid for their safety but he found out that they were fine.
“He feels free,” Murphy said. “But there are many people who didn’t hear that sigh today.”
New Orleans Pelicans players stand during a tribute at the Kaseya Center for the people killed after a car plowed into the crowd in New Orleans before the NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Murphy added that it was “a real shame.”
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“People are trying to enjoy themselves and enter the new year with a different mindset and now there are many families who have to face this massacre,” he said. “And I have many prayers and thoughts to go to those families, because it is not heard.
“Things like that shouldn’t happen. You shouldn’t have to worry about going to Bourbon Street and enjoying yourself, and then you end up losing a loved one.”
Former NBA player Antonio Daniels was on the phone for the Pelicans’ broadcast of the game. He and quarterback Joel Meyers expressed grief over the attack.
Sugar Bowl fans from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame stop to take photos as New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Chris Granger / New Orleans Advocate via AP)
“If you think about what Bourbon Street is, it’s a place of happiness. A place of laughter. A place for weddings, for bachelorette parties, bachelor parties, a place where people meet,” Daniels said. “And as coach Green said, a senseless act of violence to try to divide this city? My heart aches. My heart aches for this city. It’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate that this is a dark world we live in today.”
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Miami won the game 119-108.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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