New details surrounding the viral altercation between a father, his 10-year-old son, and the now infamous “Phillies Karen” have surfaced.
Speaking with local media, Drew Feltwell explained how what was supposed to be a happy memory for his son, Lincoln, quickly turned into a public screaming match after the woman confronted him over a home run ball.
Highlights
- The 10YO’s father described the intensity and vulgarity with which the Karen confronted him and his son.
- Fearing the situation could get physical, he gave in to de-escalate the situation in front of his 10-year-old son, Lincoln.
- Drew also pleaded with internet vigilantes to stop searching for the woman, as innocent people could get hurt.
Feltwell revealed the reasons behind him deciding to cave to the ‘Karen’s’ demands, and described the level of vulgarity she used.
The woman was reportedly more than entitled and was irate, aggressive, and an immediate danger to the 10-year-old’s safety.
Drew Feltwell, the father of the kid who was confronted by the “Phillies Karen,” spoke about his intense confrontation with the woman
Image credits: NBC10 Philadelphia
It all began last Friday night (September 5), during a Philadelphia Phillies vs Miami Marlins game the former ultimately lost.
At one point, Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run. At least six adults, none of them the infamous Karen, rushed to grab the ball, but it was Drew who emerged victorious, giving his kid a gift he would never forget.
Image credits: Unsplash / Ashley Levinson
He had no idea a strange woman in a Phillies shirt would storm over immediately, screaming and demanding the ball in an unhinged outbursts that would thrust them, unwillingly, into viral fame.
“I can’t even repeat that on air,” Drew explained. “She was very vulgar. Screaming right in my ear.”
The Karen argued that, because the ball had landed close to her seat, she was entitled to keep it
Image credits: NBC Sports
“I didn’t even see her walk up,” Drew added. “She yelled in my ear, ‘That’s my ball!’ Super loud… She said, ‘You stole it! Those are from our seats.’”
In classic Karen fashion, the woman felt entitled to the ball for reasons that made sense only to her. She argued that, because the ball had landed in her seat, the ball was somehow hers to keep.
Initially, Drew tried reasoning with the woman, explaining that the seats were empty, and that he had gotten the ball fair and square, but nothing worked.
“I’m literally leaning back as she’s in my face yelling and yelling,” he recalled. “She was trying to tell me she had the right to the ball.”
Drew decided to de-escalate the situation, even if that meant surrendering to her demands to avoid a possible confrontation
The situation started escalating, and Drew felt it. It was only a matter of time for things to get physical.
“I had a fork in the road: either do something I was probably going to regret, or be dad and show [m son] how to de-escalate the situation,” Drew explained.
Bottling his own frustration, Drew decided to take the ball from his son’s hands and gave it to the woman.
The crowd, who understood exactly what was happening, started booing right away. The Karen, showing no remorse, proceeded to flip them off and walk away.
Internet sleuths launched a shaming campaign to identify the Karen, but ended up targeting the wrong people
Image credits: NBC Sports
The footage quickly went viral, and with it came the fury of the internet. Within hours, social media users launched a full-scale shaming campaign to identify the infamous “Phillies Karen,” and destroy her life.
However, it was the wrong person who ended up receiving their righteous fury.
As Bored Panda previously reported, a woman named Cheryl Richardson-Wager, who’s not even a Phillies fan, was falsely identified as the Karen, and began receiving threats and harassment.
In response, Richardson-Wagner changed both the profile and cover images of her Facebook profile to alert internet vigilantes of her true identity, and the fact that she’s a Boston Red Sox fan.
“I’m NOT the crazy Philly Mom,” she posted. “But I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast… and I’m a Red Sox fan!”
Internet vigilantes tried doxxing another woman, revealing her supposed place of employment in an attempt to get her fired
Image credits: Facebook/Drew Feltwell
Richardson-Wagner wasn’t alone. Another woman, Leslie Ann Kravitz, was also incorrectly linked to the infamous Karen.
This time, the internet tried doxxing her, revealing her place of employment presumably in an attempt to get her fired. They claimed she worked at the Hammonton Public Schools in New Jersey, but the institution denied it.
“The woman identified on social media as ‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools,” the statement read.
“Anyone who works for our school district… would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place!”
Drew pleaded with netizens to stop searching for the Karen, warning that innocent people were already being caught in the crossfire
Image credits: NBC Sports
As the search for the still-anonymous internet villain continues, Drew reached out to local media to issue a plea to the vigilantes bent on seeking justice for his son:
“Leave it alone.”
Drew revealed that scores of people reached out to him vowing to get the ball back from the Karen.
“You know, if somebody knows her and can talk to her, that's different. But God, I don’t want people breaking in their house and stuff like that. The internet already messed her up pretty good.”
As for his 10-year-old son, Lincoln, he didn’t leave empty handed.
He was given a signed baseball bat by Harrison Bader, the outfielder responsible for the home run that started it all, and memorabilia from both the Phillies and the Marlins.
"Ridiculous amount of entitlement," a viewer wrote.
