On September 5, 2025, a massive controversy erupted at LoanDepot Park in Miami, a Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miami Marlins game when outfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the stands. Drew Feltwell, a father, caught the ball and handed it to his 10-year-old son Lincoln, who hugged him with joy. Lincoln was present with his family to celebrate his birthday but the moment of joy soon turned sour.
But the happy moment was interrupted. A woman walked up, angry, and demanded the ball. Drew stayed calm as she raised her voice. Shocked and terrified at woman's unruly behaviour, Drew took the ball from Lincoln and gave it to her. The video of the clash spread online within hours. Millions watched, and the woman was quickly misidentified by the internet as the “Phillies Karen.”
The viral footage shows the unidentified woman storming up to him and demanding the ball. “She just screamed in my ear, ‘That’s my ball,’ like, super loud,” Feltwell recalled.
To avoid escalating the confrontation, he reluctantly took the ball back from Lincoln and handed it over. “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,” Feltwell explained. The gesture didn’t sit well with Lincoln. “I wasn’t very happy that we had to give it to her,” the boy said. “But we can’t win.”
ALSO READ: Larry Ellison's roller-coaster love life: 81-year-old Oracle founder's fifth wife is 47 years younger to him
"Attention Karen: We will you pay $5,000 for the ball we only ask that you autograph it 'I’m sorry.' Please share we would really like to get this ball to that young fan," the company wrote in a post on X.
“Our offer is official and the offer is firm,” the company added on their website.
After the game, Drew Feltwell explained why he handed over the ball. He said the woman “just would not stop,” and he wanted to protect his son from more stress. In an interview to USA Today, Drew asked the public to stop attacking her.
“Please don't do anything to that lady,’’ Feltwell said. “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.’’
ALSO READ: Larry Ellison now world's richest: How a two-time college dropout built Oracle and pushed it to the billionaire chart
"I felt like Superdad putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug," Feltwell, told NBC 10. "Still in disbelief that she walked down there like that.”
“She was, very, very, very close, and I’m dad of the family so I didn’t want to do something I regret. That was the choice I made. I handed the ball back and told her to go away,” he added.
Since then, netizens and Phillie fans have been trying to identify the woman and wrong identified her as 'Phillie Karen'. Rumors circulated that she had been fired by a New Jersey school district as a result of her actions, but the district denied those claims, insisting that if it was one of their teachers, she would have caught the ball barehanded.
ALSO READ: More trouble for D4vd as brands drop him after body found in his Tesla. Cops drop major clues on victim’s identity
"Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation," the district said in a statement, according to Breaking Atlantic County.
"I wish I had the ball for my son to put in his room next to the bat, but if I had the ball, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the bat, so it worked out fine," Feltwell said.
Social media users scrambled to uncover her identity, but every name associated with her so far has proven to be inaccurate. Initially, a teacher named Leslie-Ann Kravitz was implicated, followed by Cheryl Richardson-Wagner, who publicly refuted the claim. More recently, Facebook posts alleged that she was a parking enforcement officer named Karen Cairny, reportedly dismissed after the incident. However, none of these allegations are supported by credible evidence.
ALSO READ: Missed Ariana Grande presale? Here's when you can grab general sale tickets for her 2026 tour
A New Jersey school district also issued a statement saying that the woman in question does not work for the school system.
“The woman identified on social media as ‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools located in Hammonton, New Jersey,” the district said in a Facebook post. “Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation!”
“OK everyone, I’m NOT the crazy Philly Mom (but I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast),” Cheryl Richardson-Wagner posted on Facebook Saturday. “And I’m a Red Sox fan!”
Add Now!
But the happy moment was interrupted. A woman walked up, angry, and demanded the ball. Drew stayed calm as she raised her voice. Shocked and terrified at woman's unruly behaviour, Drew took the ball from Lincoln and gave it to her. The video of the clash spread online within hours. Millions watched, and the woman was quickly misidentified by the internet as the “Phillies Karen.”
The viral footage shows the unidentified woman storming up to him and demanding the ball. “She just screamed in my ear, ‘That’s my ball,’ like, super loud,” Feltwell recalled.
To avoid escalating the confrontation, he reluctantly took the ball back from Lincoln and handed it over. “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,” Feltwell explained. The gesture didn’t sit well with Lincoln. “I wasn’t very happy that we had to give it to her,” the boy said. “But we can’t win.”
ALSO READ: Larry Ellison's roller-coaster love life: 81-year-old Oracle founder's fifth wife is 47 years younger to him
Phillies ‘Karen’ offered thousands of dollars?
The drama over the Philadelphia Phillies home run ball seems to be far from over. According to Independent, a trading card company is begging the woman, dubbed ‘Karen’, who harassed a father into giving up the ball to sell it to them for $5,000 - with only one condition."Attention Karen: We will you pay $5,000 for the ball we only ask that you autograph it 'I’m sorry.' Please share we would really like to get this ball to that young fan," the company wrote in a post on X.
“Our offer is official and the offer is firm,” the company added on their website.
After the game, Drew Feltwell explained why he handed over the ball. He said the woman “just would not stop,” and he wanted to protect his son from more stress. In an interview to USA Today, Drew asked the public to stop attacking her.
“Please don't do anything to that lady,’’ Feltwell said. “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.’’
ALSO READ: Larry Ellison now world's richest: How a two-time college dropout built Oracle and pushed it to the billionaire chart
"I felt like Superdad putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug," Feltwell, told NBC 10. "Still in disbelief that she walked down there like that.”
“She was, very, very, very close, and I’m dad of the family so I didn’t want to do something I regret. That was the choice I made. I handed the ball back and told her to go away,” he added.
Who is Phillie Karen?
The footage was captured by the TV cameras in the stadium and went viral immediately, with most painting the woman as the villain. After the game, the Marlins gifted the boy a goodie bag, while Bader met the young fan and gave him a signed baseball bat to hopefully take the sting out of losing his homer ball.Since then, netizens and Phillie fans have been trying to identify the woman and wrong identified her as 'Phillie Karen'. Rumors circulated that she had been fired by a New Jersey school district as a result of her actions, but the district denied those claims, insisting that if it was one of their teachers, she would have caught the ball barehanded.
ALSO READ: More trouble for D4vd as brands drop him after body found in his Tesla. Cops drop major clues on victim’s identity
"Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation," the district said in a statement, according to Breaking Atlantic County.
"I wish I had the ball for my son to put in his room next to the bat, but if I had the ball, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the bat, so it worked out fine," Feltwell said.
Social media users scrambled to uncover her identity, but every name associated with her so far has proven to be inaccurate. Initially, a teacher named Leslie-Ann Kravitz was implicated, followed by Cheryl Richardson-Wagner, who publicly refuted the claim. More recently, Facebook posts alleged that she was a parking enforcement officer named Karen Cairny, reportedly dismissed after the incident. However, none of these allegations are supported by credible evidence.
ALSO READ: Missed Ariana Grande presale? Here's when you can grab general sale tickets for her 2026 tour
A New Jersey school district also issued a statement saying that the woman in question does not work for the school system.
“The woman identified on social media as ‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools located in Hammonton, New Jersey,” the district said in a Facebook post. “Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation!”
“OK everyone, I’m NOT the crazy Philly Mom (but I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast),” Cheryl Richardson-Wagner posted on Facebook Saturday. “And I’m a Red Sox fan!”
Add 
as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
