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Pelicans coach Willie Green wasn’t aware of the tragic events that were unfolding in New Orleans until his dad texted him on Wednesday morning to wish him a happy New Year.
That’s when he also got the “devastating” news of the carnage that took place in the early hours of 2025 when a man drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street striking and killing at least 15 people and injured dozens in what federal law enforcement is investigating as a terrorist attack.
“I got a text from my dad this morning and he was wishing me a happy new year, but saying he was praying for all the people in New Orleans. I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time,” Green told reporters ahead of the Pelicans game in Miami. “And then I read the news and saw what was going on.”
Green said he was “devastated” after hearing the news and said the hearts of the team went out to the families impacted by the tragedy.
The Pelicans faced the Heat on Wednesday at Kaseya Center, so the team was far away from home when the attack occurred.
Still, the weight of the situation could be felt as Green addressed reporters.
“No. 1, we’re acknowledging this is a difficult time for all the folks involved, especially it being close to home with us being [from] New Orleans,” he said. “Sometimes it can be difficult to go out and try to execute a basketball game and gameplan when you just realize that there’s so many other factors going on that are bigger than the game. But at the same time, we do have a responsibility to step on the floor tonight and give it our best.”
Closer to New Orleans, Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi sat in the team’s practice facility parking lot tracking his kids’ location to make sure they were all OK.
The attacks had triggered memories of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center for Rizzi, who is a New Jersey native and had lost former high school teammates when the Twin Towers collapsed more than 20 years ago in lower Manhattan.
“I went to a lot of memorials and funerals,” Rizzi said, according to NOLA.com. “And so any time it’s something like this comes up, because you could see the smoke from the World Trade Center at my home, where I lived, and so when I tell you that it hits home, it hits home.”
The shocking attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. as New Year’s revelry was still in full force on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter as driver Shamsud Din Jabbar sped passed a police car that had been blocking the street and then began his carnage.
The attacker was killed by police after getting into a firefight with officers responding to the incident.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Jabbar had been “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
Information on some of the victims who died in the early morning attack has slowly trickled out
Among the reported victims include former Princeton football player Tiger Bech, 27, Reggie Hunter, 37, who was a father of two and Nicole Perez, 28, a mother to a 4-year-old little boy.
The Saints and Pelicans issued a joint statement after the attack.
“The New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day,” the teams, both owned by Gayle Benson, said.
“Our hearts go out to all victims and their families during this difficult time and express our deepest gratitude to the first responders who acted swiftly and bravely on the scene.
“New Orleans is a city built on resilience, and this heartbreaking event reminds us of the importance of coming together to support one another, to honor those affected, and to work toward healing as a community. In times of tragedy, the New Orleans community has always shown extraordinary courage and compassion, and we are certain that this time will be no different.”
