“Leave it alone”: Father confronted by Phillies Karen condemns online sleuths trying to uncover identity

What appeared to be an aggressive moment during a Phillies game has become a viral moment with social media backlash, mistaken identities, and far too much outrage.

Now known as the "Phillies Karen," a woman relentlessly harassed a father for a home run ball that he caught which was initially for his young son. But now, the father is asking everyone to stop the hate and criticism aimed towards the woman.

In trying to defuse the tensions, Drew Feltwell has made efforts to downplay punishing the woman. In interviews with USA Today and NBC Philadelphia, he explained his choice to give the ball to the woman by saying he wanted to use this event as an opportunity to show his son that de-escalating the situation was better than escalating it.

"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," Feltwell said in a statement.

Phillies fan Drew Feltwell said it's time to leave alone the woman who demanded baseball back after he gave it to 10-year-old son.

🔗: https://t.co/p2hyZyJEWM#RingTheBell #Phillies #PhiladelphiaPhillies pic.twitter.com/1BUTr2EBNK

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) September 9, 2025

Despite expressing his anger, Feltwell has discouraged people from actively searching for the lady.

"Please don't do anything to that lady. Leave it alone. You know, 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," he told USA Today

His son Lincoln also stated that he was disappointed, but was happy after the game when Harrison Bader gave him a signed bat, which slightly eased the pain of losing the ball.

The viral incident and public backlash

The altercation occurred Friday night at LoanDepot Park, in Miami, during the Phillies 9-3 victory over the Miami Marlins. Phillies centre fielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the left-field stands, where Drew Feltwell, a Phillies fan from New Jersey, was able to retrieve the ball. He then passed it to his son, Lincoln, who was celebrating his 10th birthday.

What was supposed to be a wonderful moment between a father and son quickly went south. A woman in a Phillies jersey confronted Feltwell by yelling the ball was hers.

In the video of the encounter, it can be seen that Feltwell took the ball from his son's glove against his will and then handed it to the woman. The woman then returned to her seat, booed by fans near Feltwell, and was seen on camera later flipping off the crowd.

The video went viral on social media, and people started calling the woman "Phillies Karen." In a matter of hours, internet detectives were posting names, photos, and personal information on potential women.

Crazy Karen wants to ruin a kid’s day at the Phillies game? Not happening! For those who don’t know (watch last two slides) a crazy Karen harassed a father and son because the father grabbed and gave the home run ball to his son. Crazy Karen wasn’t cool with that. Then, fans and… pic.twitter.com/BRYQ5g9cpB

— Crazy flix (@Crazyflix94) September 6, 2025

So far, two women have issued public statements denying their involvement, including one who actually put on Facebook that she was not the "crazy Philly mom" and stated that she was a Red Sox fan. Even a New Jersey school district released a statement trying to clarify that the woman identified in social media was not an employee.

Although many online are still making jokes about the women’s actions, the episode is a reminder of how quickly social media becomes a vortex that can pull private individuals under the scrutiny of public judgment.