Boy whose ball was 'stolen' by women speaks out after major controversy
A young boy whose father was berated by a grown female Phillies fan during a baseball game over the weekend has spoken out.
As part of a sports scandal that has since gone viral across the globe, Drew Feltwell and his son Lincoln had attended the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Miami Marlins 9-3 on Friday (5 September).
Midway through the nail-biting showdown, centre-fielder Harrison Bader score a staggering home run, sending the ball flying into the crowd.
Incidentally, however, the ball began heading directly to a rather sparse section of the audience, inspiring Drew - who was also joined by his wife and daughter - to run across the bleachers to catch it for his little boy.
Advert
After managing to do so, the overjoyed father-of-two was seen on the big screen placing the ball into Lincoln's glove before the pair embrace.
Seconds later, however, the sweet moment was soured by a woman who'd stormed over to the group, and began yelling in Drew's face.
The lady in question claimed the ball had been heading towards her section of the stands, and therefore, rightfully belonged to her.
"No, you took it from me!" she could be heard screaming in further fan footage. "You took it from me!
"That was in my hands. That was in my hands."
In a visible state of shock, Drew was forced to hand the ball to the woman, who was later booed out of the stadium after becoming embroiled in subsequent spats with other groups of fans.
In the days since the hotly-debated moment hit international headlines, the Feltwells have spoken to press - specifically Lincoln and his father.
Reflecting on the moment he realised the woman was demanding he hand her over the prized ball, the youngster told NBC10 Philadelphia: "I wasn't very happy we had to give it to her, but we can't win.
"She was going to get it anyways."
Drew also reflected on the horror show, claiming he hadn't even realised the woman had followed them back to their seats until she began screaming in their faces.
"I don’t even remember what she said, it was, you know, a lot of eyes on us by that time and the ball was already in his glove and she just wouldn’t stop," he confessed.
"And I mean, I’m literally leaning back as she’s in my face yelling and yelling and I pretty much just wanted her to go away because I had a fork in the road.
"Either do something I was probably going to regret or be dad and show him how to deescalate the situation so that’s where I went."
The dad went on to admit: "I thought I had accomplished this great thing and putting [it] in his glove meant a lot and she was just so adamant and loud and yelling and persistent and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore."
Thankfully, the Feltwells encounter with the woman ended happily, with the Phillies and the Marlins gifting the child - whose birthday it was - a prize pack containing a variety of gifts.
Bader himself also went on to present Lincoln with a signed bat.
Later, after being asked how it felt to have their woes recognised by their favourite team, and to have received a gift bag from the Phillies, Lincoln added: "I'm happy that I got to get something else."
He continued: "It was very very fun getting to meet Bader."
Rhianna Benson