Hysterical feminists rage at sideline reporter for hitting on girl in viral video during baseball broadcast

A viral video showing a sports reporter asking for a young lady’s phone number during a baseball broadcast angered feminists who called it sexist and misogynist.

Sportscaster Wiley Ballard was interviewing two female fans during the broadcast of the Atlanta Braves games against the Toronto Blue Jays when he was encouraged by other broadcasters to ask for a phone number.

‘This is highly inappropriate and joking about a new pickup method on air is gross and cringy.’

“You got four innings, five innings to get the numbers!” joked play-by-play commentator Brandon Gaudin.

“All right, they want me to get your number,” said Ballard to one of the women, who obliged.

The commentators joked that it was a brilliant tactic to flirt with women at baseball games.

“I should have thought of this years ago!” said Ballard.

When the video hit the internet, however, an army of embittered Karens clawed out of the woodwork to accuse Ballard of acting inappropriately.

“It’s hard not to ignore the unbalanced power dynamics at play here, with many pointing out the obvious double standard had the genders been reversed. One can only hope Ballard learned his lesson,” responded journalist Kristen Wong at Sports Illustrated.

“An unprofessional disgrace, from the reporter, to the guys in the booth, to the producer in the truck who could’ve stopped it at any point. It’s not ‘fun’. It’s not ‘cool’. It’s not ‘harmless’. And it’s only a ‘standard’ for harassment,” wrote Fox Sports writer Ralph Vacchiano.

He added that the incident “put the woman in a terrible, unwelcome, unfair, even dangerous spot.”

“Yes it was unprofessional,” wrote one fan on social media. “If a woman in sports media did the same thing she would get crucified.”

“This is disgusting behavior. We want to make women and everyone feel comfortable at sporting events and this is what gets promoted? Hey @wileyballard_ this is highly inappropriate and joking about a new pickup method on air is gross and cringy,” replied fantasy NASCAR writer Matthew Selz.

Others defended Ballard and told social media to calm down.

“The fact that @wileyballard_ the kindest, most professional reporter I met covering Atlanta sports is at the eye of today’s dumb internet storm is objectively hilarious,” responded seasoned sports anchor Wes Blankenship. “Inhale. Exhale. And consider that you may be alive today because a gentleman asked a girl for her number.”

“All of the think pieces on Wiley Ballard have to stop. Dude is the [sic] one of the nicest guys in the business and has worked extremely hard to get where he is,” replied broadcaster Brady Penn. “To those of you crying about it being ‘inappropriate’ or ‘misogynistic’ please stop. It was two adults having a fun bit that crushed.”

Despite the Wiley flirtations, the Braves went on to defeat the Blue Jays 8 to 4.

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