Fans inside New York City’s Barclay’s Center roared at the stunning rejection during Friday night’s game between the WNBA’s New York Liberty and the Washington Mystics. But it wasn’t because of a great block in the paint; instead, a fan had his marriage proposal rejected live, in front of thousands of fans on the Brooklyn stadium’s Jumbotron.
Video of the incident shows a man in a New York Liberty jersey on one knee, speaking to a woman standing nearby.
An announcer can be heard saying, “Say yes, baby.”
She leans in to kiss him, then grabs her things and quickly walks away, as the crowd audibly gasps.
The identity of the couple is not known. While some speculated that the proposal was staged, those inside the arena believe it was genuine – and genuinely heartbreaking.
“Ok what’s missing for this video was 30 seconds beforehand that the girl CLEARLY didn’t want to be on the Jumbotron,” wrote reporter Courtney Stith on Twitter.
“We were all wondering if it was staged, but apparently not. Maybe this will bring an end to proposals at games (this was the fourth one this season in NY,” added basketball blogger @NYCScribbler.
After the game, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, whose jersey adorned the back of the would-be groom, wrote “no way this was real” on her Instagram story.
"No way he got rejected like that in my jersey...I was HURT!” she continued. "Someone find this man and let me sign his jersey please!!!!!!"
The WNBA playoffs start on Thursday.
