A quick-thinking tennis fan avoided social media infamy on Sunday, handing over a ball to a young boy after it was struck into the stands during the US Open final.
Both tennis and baseball have seen supporters go viral in recent days over their treatment of young fans.
Earlier in the US Open, Piotr Szczerek sparked fury after he stole a player’s hat meant for a boy named brock. He later issued a groveling apology.
Then at Friday’s Phillies-Marlins game, a woman confronted a father who managed to snag a home run ball ahead of his son’s 10th birthday. The woman – who has become known as the ‘Phillies Karen’ – bullied Lincoln Feltwell’s father, Drew, into handing it over.
During the men’s singles final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, a ball ended up in the stands once more. A young kid attempted to grab it, only to see the ball bounce into the hands of a man sitting behind him.
But rather than risk the wrath of social media, the man immediately handed it to the child – and went viral for the right reasons.
The incident occurred during Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open final win against Jannik Sinner
A Phillies fan (white jersey) was seen berating Drew Feltwell for beating her to a home run ball
‘Real American right there,’ one tennis fan wrote online. ‘That’s what a normal human being would do,’ added another. ‘Power move. This epitome of learning from someone else’s mistakes,’ added a third.
Over the weekend, the young boy who lost his baseball to the ‘Phillies Karen’ spoke of his devastation at having given it away.
‘I wasn’t very happy that we had to give it to her, but we can’t win,’ Lincoln told NBC 10 Philadelphia. ‘She was going to get it anyways.’
Lincoln later got to meet Harrison Bader – the Philadelphia Phillies player who hit the home run that sparked the exchange – after the game and the MLB star gave him a bat to make up for the lost ball.
‘I’m happy I got to get something else. It was very, very fun getting to meet Bader,’ he added.
The ‘Phillies Karen’ is still yet to be identified, despite thousands on social media hunting to find out who she is.
On Saturday, a woman was forced to deny she was the culprit after a case of mistaken identity led to her Facebook being overrun with angry messages.
Lincoln’s father, Drew Feltwell, said that he simply wanted the woman to ‘go away’ as he tried to be a role model for his son. As for the backlash, he said he doesn’t want her life to be ‘ruined’ by the incident.
The woman – now known as ‘Phillies Karen’ – bullied her fellow supporter into handing it over
Tennis star Kamil Majchrzak tried to give his cap to a boy, but Piotr Szczerek snatched it away
‘She brought that on herself,’ Drew said. ‘I don’t want her life ruined but she brought that on. She’s going to pay for that and it is not by hand. I don’t wish any harm on her. Maybe she was in the moment. I’m not going to defend her.’
As for what was going through his head during the confrontation, Drew explained: ‘Just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of my son, I guess,’ he told the network.
Feltwell, who attended the game with his wife, son and daughter, added that he was ‘still in disbelief’ at the woman’s actions and that he apologized to his son for handing the ball over.
‘I thought I had accomplished this great thing,’ Feltwell said. ‘But she just wouldn’t stop.’
