---
title: "Memorial plaque vandalised days after Jersey basketball court opens"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/memorial-plaque-vandalised-jersey-basketball-court-opening/
published: 2026-11-05T10:00:53+00:00
modified: 2026-11-05T10:00:53+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["Crime"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/memorial-plaque-vandalised-jersey-basketball-court-opening-1024x572.webp
summary: "A memorial plaque at Jersey's new Millennium Town Park basketball court, honouring Guillaume Hoareau who died in 2024, was defaced just three days after opening"
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Memorial plaque vandalised days after Jersey basketball court opens

**In brief:** A memorial plaque at a newly opened basketball court in Millennium Town Park, St Helier, was vandalised with profanities just three days after its unveiling. The court honours Guillaume Hoareau, a Jersey basketball player who died after collapsing during a match in 2024. The plaque was cleaned up swiftly, and park staff say the facility remains a wonderful tribute to a much-loved figure in the island’s basketball community.

## A Court Built on Memory

Jersey’s basketball community had barely finished celebrating before someone reached for a marker pen for all the wrong reasons. The new basketball court in Millennium Town Park was opened over the weekend in honour of Guillaume Hoareau, known affectionately to friends and teammates as ‘G’, who died after collapsing mid-game during an inter-insular match between Jersey and Guernsey in May 2024.

Mr Hoareau had given more than a decade of service to the Jersey Men’s National Basketball Team and also coached minis for the Jersey Basketball Association. The colourful new court takes its visual inspiration from the regional flag of Réunion, the French overseas territory where he was born, making it a genuinely personal and thoughtful tribute to the man it commemorates.

By any measure, it is a fine addition to the park. Which makes what happened next all the more dispiriting.

## Pens Left Behind, Plaque Defaced

According to the Jersey Evening Post, just three days after the court’s opening, the memorial plaque was vandalised, with profanities scribbled across it. Aubin Le Pennec, head gardener at Millennium Park for almost a decade, explained that pens had been provided at the grand opening on Saturday for attendees to sign a ball for players to use. Some of those pens, he said, were accidentally left behind, and it appears they were subsequently put to rather less wholesome use.

The plaque was cleaned up swiftly on Tuesday morning. Mr Le Pennec was measured and generous in his response, describing the incident as “minor vandalism” and keeping the focus firmly on the positive. “This is absolutely positive. It is a well-used area and a great asset, it looks amazing,” he told the JEP. “I think it is a wonderful tribute to the gentleman who passed away.”

He acknowledged that the court is locked at night and open during the day, but noted that there will always be “mindless acts.” “We can’t stop that, but we all do our best,” he added.

## Open for the Community

The court will remain open through the winter months, unlocked from 7.30am until 6pm daily until 31 March. Mr Le Pennec described the area as “well-used” and expressed hope that the facility will be embraced by the public in the spirit it was intended.

For Jersey’s basketball community, the court represents something genuinely meaningful: a permanent, visible reminder of a player and coach who gave years of his life to the sport on the island. The design, rooted in the colours and symbolism of Réunion, ensures that Mr Hoareau’s heritage is woven into the fabric of the place, not just a name on a plaque.

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something particularly bleak about vandalising a memorial to someone who died doing something they loved, for a community they cared about. The basketball court in Millennium Town Park is a genuinely lovely idea, and the speed with which staff cleaned up the damage says a great deal about the people who look after these spaces. Mr Le Pennec’s philosophical response, that mindless acts happen and you simply do your best, is the kind of quiet dignity that deserves more recognition than it usually gets.

One small practical note: if you are handing out pens at a public event and would prefer the memorial plaque to remain profanity-free, perhaps collect them back at the end. Lesson learned, no harm done, and the court looks amazing. Let’s hope it stays that way.

*Source: [Jersey Evening Post](https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2026/11/05/swift-clean-up-at-amazing-new-sports-facility)*