When you have a whole lot of money, the world is your playground. You can do what you want, when you want to. It seems like New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris knows this very, very well. He decided to flex his influence recently by landing his helicopter right in the middle of a soccer field at St Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, NJ. He apparently parked it there long enough that it cancelled a youth soccer game.
The upcoming quote is from a parent at the game, courtesy of Deadspin.
“My son’s U13 youth soccer team was supposed to play a game at 7:30 last night (Sunday, November 8th) on the field at Benedict’s Prep in Newark. As the two teams of U13 players from the STA 02 NPL and Cedar Stars Pre-Academy team got ready to take the field, a helicopter dropped down from the sky and landed right in the middle of the field. A security detail emerged from the helicopter and informed the boys and their coaches that NJ Jersey Devils owner, Josh Harris, had instructed them to land on the field and wait for him to return from the Prudential Center where the Devils were playing.
The boys and their families waited in the cold until finally it became clear that Harris was running late and no one knew when he might return to pick up his ride. Eventually, the coaches decided to call the boys’ game and everyone went home disappointed, frustrated and annoyed. I am not sure when or if Harris ever showed up to remove his helicopter from the field, but I hope that he had a great night. There are a number of 12 year olds and youth soccer fans who did not — because of Harris’s selfish behavior.”
This isn’t the first time that Harris has used the field as a helipad as evidenced by the video below.
This video is from last November in 2014. According to Deadspin, Harris isn’t the only person to land his helicopter on the field. The school’s headmaster Edwin Leahy said that the field is used by multiple businessmen in Newark but mostly by Harris. Deadspin also said that according to Leahy, the error was due to a lack of communication between the aviation company and the head of facilities at the school.
Harris has reportedly reached out and is inviting the players and coaches to an upcoming Devils game.
You know this is the kind of stuff that never happens to a common man like myself. I aspire to one day cancel a youth sporting event, fingers crossed.