A trading card retailer offered a deal to an irate Philadelphia Phillies fan who demanded that a father give her a home run ball during the team’s game against the Miami Marlins last week.
Blowout Cards issued a statement in the hours after the incident, saying the company would offer $5,000 to the woman for the baseball, “but there’s a catch.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM
“We want that ball signed and inscribed by her — and only her, whoever she is — ‘I’m sorry’ so we can simply give it back to the kid. Our offer is official and the offer is firm,” the company said.
The woman, who was dubbed “Phillies Karen,” has not been identified. Internet sleuths have wrongly identified a few people as they search for her.
The family at the center of the firestorm spoke out in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports” on Monday.
The viral moment showed Drew Feltwell running toward a home run ball hit by Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader. He beat about four people to the souvenir. He then gave it to his son and shared it in the special moment. But before the moment could sink in, an irate female Phillies fan marched over to Feltwell and his family and demanded they give her the ball instead.
DESPITE ECONOMIC HEADWINDS, LIVE SPORTS SPENDING IS SURGING AND HIGHER THAN PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
“I can’t even repeat that on air. She was very vulgar,” he recalled. “Screaming right in my ear that, you know, lotta bad words and, ‘That’s my ball.’ That was her section and trying to tell me she had the right to that ball. The screaming and yelling kinda got to us, and I just wanted her to go away. So, that’s how she got the ball.”
Feltwell said he was trying to deescalate the situation when he gave the ball to the woman. She celebrated the win soon after.
He said he had no regrets about how he handled the situation.
“No, I think the world could use a little extra deescalation,” Feltwell explained. “Everything is so tense. The world is pretty crazy, and I don’t want to do anything like that in front of my son or on camera. It was tough giving the ball back, but it ended that situation.”
Feltwell said he hoped nothing bad would happen to her but would want her to give the ball back.
“Well, I’d love to get the ball to give back to my son,” he said. “But I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Definitely not happy with her. Our evening worked out quite well afterward. So, can’t complain.”
Read the full article here
