Fan behaviour in America has been a hot topic in recent weeks, due to several ugly incidents. And the latest is arguably the worst of all.
Following on from the hat snatcher at the US Open, now a woman has been captured berating a father and his young boy for claiming a home run ball that was rightfully theirs.
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During the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 9-3 victory over Miami on Saturday, Philadelphia’s Harrison Bader launched a solo home run to the second deck in left field.
The ball was caught by a father in a Phillies shirt, who sprinted back to his son with glee.
In what was a wholesome father-son moment, the dad, beaming from ear to ear, handed his son the home run ball, with the young boy overjoyed.
But what should have been a precious moment for the family was quickly ruined by an angry woman.
The lady, who for some reason felt that she was entitled to the ball, pursued the man and berated him, demanding that his child give it to her.
Fan footage from the stands shows the woman saying, “You took it from me”.
As his children looked both frightened and confused, the father gave in, handing the ball to the woman to end the confrontation as she stormed off, all the while the young boy’s smile turned to a look of dejection.
The incident quickly went viral on social media, with fans disgusted at the behaviour.
“Absolutely disgusting, she has no right to the ball or to behave so badly,” one fan commented.
Another added, “This is gross behaviour. She is a grown woman. Absolutely shameless.”
“Absolute Hall of Fame, Karen, that one, horrific,” a third wrote.
Fortunately, both the Phillies and Marlins stepped in to write the wrong.
Two innings later, a Marlins stadium staffer went up to the disappointed family and gave the young boy with a bag full of team merchandise and baseballs, stating, “I saw what happened, it wasn’t right”, before asking the young boy, “Are you okay?”
The boy nodded as he was handed the goodie bag.
The Phillies also organised the fan to come down after the game to give him a signed bat from Bader.
American fan behaviour called out
However, the latest incident is just the latest in an ugly spate of moments at US sporting events.
Last week at the US Open, a man stole a hat from a child.
Tennis star Kamil Majchrzak had tried to hand the cap over personally after his victory over Karen Khachanov, but Polish millionaire Piotr Szczerek snatched it for himself.
The millionaire was labelled a “sack of garbage”, “common thief”, “primitive scammer” and “shameful jerk”.
Szczerek has since apologised on social media, writing: “It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan. I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory.”
The US Open has also had several other crowd incidents, such as a fan trying to steal gear out of Jannik Sinner’s tennis bag as he interacted with a young fan.
While another fan’s creepy act made teenager Mirra Andreeva uncomfortable.
But the latest incidents don’t stop there either, as a baseball game earlier this week, A New York Mets fan was caught on live broadcast stealing a souvenir baseball from an elderly man during a home game against the Miami Marlins.
Sports fans, do better.