Featured Image Credit: NBC
Topics: Baseball
Josh Lawless
The young baseball fan who was involved in a viral incident which was branded "disgusting" has spoken out on the controversy.
On Friday, the Miami Marlins hosted the Philadelphia Phillies at the loanDepot Park in a huge MLB clash and there was a huge talking point online when Harrison Bader conjured up an incredible home run.
His huge hit saw the ball land in the stands and Phillies fan Drew Feltwell managed to dart over and grabbed it before handing it to his son Lincoln.
Advert
However, a woman who was christened a 'Karen' by the media, came over and screamed at Drew - who proceeded to take the ball from his boy and handed it over to her.
Off the back off a millionaire snatching a cap out of a young child's hands at the US Open, CEO She was swiftly slammed by fans online, with one branding her a "disgusting person" and calling for her to be banned from all games.
But good karma came to Drew and his young lad Lincoln, who was attending with his mother and sister as a 10th birthday gift.
The Marlins gave him a goodie bag and his night got better as the Phillies invited him to meet Bader, who signed his bat and posed for pictures outside the clubhouse.
Advert
The family took part in an exclusive interview with NBC10 Philadelphia to recount what happened, with dad Drew doing the majority of the talking.
Drew said he was in "disbelief that she walked down there like that" and shouted "That's my ball!" within earshot.
He claimed that the woman, wearing Phillies merchandise, was booed out of the stadium and left five minutes after the incident.
Advert
Asked about giving her the ball, Drew explained he was "just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of my son".
Lincoln did interject at one point though, stating, “But we can’t win. She was gonna get it anyways".
Drew admitted that having felt like "super dad", there was some regret over taking the ball from his son and giving it to the woman as "putting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me".
Advert
But "good people" at the Phillies more than made up for it - with the signed bat now set to go into a special display on Lincoln's wall.
Reflecting on how things panned out, Drew said: “I wish I had the ball for my son to put in his room next to the bat, but if I had the ball, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the bat, so it worked out fine".