The Philadelphia Phillies acquired center fielder Harrison Bader at the MLB trade deadline, and he's been a great addition for the team so far. But his most noteworthy moment as a Phillie came thanks to a couple of fans in left field.
Against the Miami Marlins, the Phillies' center fielder hit a home run to left field in the fourth inning, giving the Phillies a 5-1 lead. A fan in the stands grabbed the ball and walked back towards his seat to give the ball to his son. But right on his tail was a woman who demanded the ball back.
The broadcast captured the moment, and it instantly went viral. She was dubbed "Phillies Karen," and, thanks in part to her getting the ball from the father, who grabbed it for his son, she became a target for those on social media. Now, people are trying to identify the woman, and two names have surfaced as potential identifiers: Cheryl Richardson-Wagner and Leslie-Ann Kravitz.
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Has Phillies Karen been identified?
The search for "Phillies Karen" is on, and the first name that popped up was Richardson-Wagners. People went to her Facebook account and began leaving comments criticizing her for her actions.
However, she cleared the air, shutting down the possibility that it was her.
Richardson-Wagner posted on her Facebook account that she wasn't the "Phillies Karen" and that she was instead a Boston Red Sox fan.
"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)... and I'm a Red Sox fan," Richardson Wagner posted on Facebook. "Apparently, I am trending on Twitter. I wonder if I will get apologies from all of these people when the real culprit is discovered."
While the search for "Phillies Karen" wrongly identified Richardson-Wagner, she felt the hate directed at her for a brief period. It's an unfortunate side-effect of the manhunt for the "Phillies Karen," as the wrongly-identified woman was the target of unwarranted hate for something she had no part in.
MORE: Who is Phillies Karen? Cheryl Richardson-Wagner responds to viral internet rumor
The next target, which is still an unsubstantiated claim, is a woman by the name of Leslie-Ann Kravitz. There were claims she was an administrator at Hammonton School District in New Jersey, but the School District shut down those claims in their own Facebook post.
"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," Hammonton School District posted on its Facebook account. "Social media and news reports indicating that she is, are incorrect."
Hammonton School District also took a jab at the real Phillies Karen, saying, "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."
This incident, which occurred during the fourth inning of a Phillies and Marlins game, has been blown out of proportion. The manhunt for the real "Phillies Karen" has been wrongly identified as two individuals, Cheryl Richardson-Wagner and Leslie-Ann Kravitz.
While "Phillies Karen" is still unknown, two women were accused of being the perpetrator, and yet, neither was correct. Plenty of jabs and mockery have been thrown at the real "Phillies Karen," and yet, there have been two women who've been falsely identified and have had ire drawn their way.
It's a modern-day witch hunt, and it's already impacted two unrelated women. Richardson-Wagner and Kravitz aren't the "Phillies Karen." With the search likely to continue, and with more false accusations that could come to fruition, it's important not to jump to conclusions, as there have already been two false accusations.
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