No one wants to see a grown man steal a baseball from a kid, and that's exactly what it looks like happened in a viral video from a Cubs game, but there may be more to it than that.
On Sunday, a video taken at a Cubs game went viral. The video appears to show a man stealing a foul ball from a kid before celebrating and giving the ball to his wife. The internet blew up with headlines like "Cubs Intervene After Fan Steals From Child" and "Cubs Give Young Fan 2 Baseballs After Middle-Aged Man Steals Foul Ball," and one can see why after watching the clip.
When going to a baseball game, DON'T be this guy. https://t.co/pAeiRN6Q2X— Cut4 (@Cut4) 1532295513.0
Later the Cubs gave the kid an autographed ball and posted a photo to Twitter.
A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn https://t.co/4YzUlG8qfN— Chicago Cubs (@Chicago Cubs) 1532292483.0
Notice in his hands he holds two game balls? Well, it turns out the first one was given to him in a previous inning by the very man the internet vilified. Also, the ball he "gave to his wife" was actually given to another kid sitting beside the couple. Some folks who were there helped to clarify.
Here's what they had to say.
@Cubs @javy23baez The other ball the kid has was the one the same guy caught and gave him before this. I was sitting next to him.— Chuck Mycoff (@Chuck Mycoff) 1532297479.0
@Sheryl58 @Cubs @javy23baez He had already helped that kid get a ball. He gave two more away to kids also. He was a… https://t.co/GpFvBwis4Q— Chuck Mycoff (@Chuck Mycoff) 1532302947.0
@SHuggins67 @Sheryl58 @Cubs @javy23baez Yep. He got 4. He was just with his wife. The kids next to his wife were wi… https://t.co/UUKc7QGwsr— Chuck Mycoff (@Chuck Mycoff) 1532307035.0
Chuck wasn't the only witness; Jeff and others weighed in.
@DevinFoFevin @cmycoff2 @Cubs @javy23baez I was sitting the next to the boy and the same fan helped him snag a ball… https://t.co/rtZTJDubzC— Jeff Rose, CFP® (@Jeff Rose, CFP®) 1532313641.0
@dbibber225 @Cut4 FYI, he's a first responder and a stand up guy. Known him and his family for over 30 years.— ABERNATHY DURESKY (@ABERNATHY DURESKY) 1532325408.0
I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helpe… https://t.co/xTgtH5oyec— David Kaplan (@David Kaplan) 1532317234.0
But some folks still weren't having it.
@cmycoff2 @SHuggins67 @Sheryl58 @Cubs @javy23baez “The guy was great taking care of the kids around him first” Who… https://t.co/eoJwkO7mxN— sofi fully vaxxed, still masked😷 staying TF 🏡 (@sofi fully vaxxed, still masked😷 staying TF 🏡) 1532353199.0
@thekapman Not buying it. That dude acted like a world class Jackwagon. Needs to publicly shamed— Mark Bono (@Mark Bono) 1532353225.0
Let's just hope everyone had a good time at the game.
H/T: Sports Illustrated, Dead Spin