Let’s begin with Jalen Carter, the star Philadelphia Eagles Center who, even before the first snap of the ball, inaugurated the NFL season by being ejected for spitting on the uniform of opposing Dallas quarterback Dak Presott.
The referee is reaching for his flag to call an “unsportsmanlike conduct” penalty on Carter before his ejection.
Let’s switch to tennis. A Polish millionaire snatched a hat away from a child, becoming for this act, the most vilified adult in America.* (*Not counting Trump, of course). Within a day the hat snatcher was identified, and his business received countess 1 star ratings. This one had a happier ending, though. When the tennis player discovered what had happened he met the boy in the locker room afterwards and greeted him with a new signed hat. And the millionaire issued a heartfelt apology, too, going from the doghouse to the penthouse.
Switching sports. The white-shirted baseball-hat-wearing man took the ball from the hands of the gentleman in blue.
The announcer said, “Wait a second, give it to a kid,” play-by-play man Gary Cohen added. “[He] took it away from an old guy.”
But why stop here? Baseball brings out the very best in us, and fans aren’t the only perpetrators. Enter the internet sleuths. Let’s all go to Miami for this brazen episode last night.
The woman in white is demanding that the man give her a home run baseball that she claimed he took from her.
This one has layers. The video shows the ball landing among fans and empty seats. There is a scramble. The man walks away with the ball and gives it to his son. The woman storms over to the man and demands the ball. Preventing a dispute, he takes the ball out of his son’s mitt and gives it to her. Fans boo the woman. She flips off the entire section.
“Thankfully, the Marlins’ stadium staff went out of their way to make things right, hooking up the fan who was briefly without the home run ball with a new ball and a prize pack. After the game, the Phillies made sure to give the fan an unforgettable moment as well, with Bader coming out to meet the family and offer up a signed bat.” (Sports Illustrated).
The account concludes, “All of that said, please, if you or a loved one happens to be in the stands when a home run ball is hit, or a player offers a fan their hat, or anything of the sort occurs and puts you in a position to possibly nab a souvenir, please just be normal about it.”
But what is “normal?” We are living in an age of intolerance, lies, distrust, and fear. Normal isn’t normal at all.
P.S. There’s a footnote to this story. The woman was mis-identified According to the website House and Whips, “names began circulating, with Cheryl Richardson-Wagner emerging as the primary suspect. Rumors spread that she was a 67-year-old nurse from Moorestown, New Jersey, working in social services, and even that she had been fired from her job due to the backlash. Wrong. Similarly, the Hammonton School District in New Jersey issued a statement clarifying that the woman was not and had never been their employee, adding a touch of humor: “Anyone who works for our school district… would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed.”
While the woman’s actions were widely criticized, the rush to identify her led to misinformation and harassment of innocent individuals. The incident also sparked conversations about sportsmanship and empathy, with many echoing the sentiment, “Balls and pucks should always go to the nearest kid.”
P.S.S. Announcers at the US Open Men’s Final have been warned not to comment on the expected boos that will rain down on #47 who is planning to attend. I wish I could be there to add my voice.