Haliey Welch was as a special guest at Thursday night’s Mets game (August 15)
People have raised questions after Hawk Tuah girl was recently granted the honor to throw the first pitch at a baseball game.
The tradition of the ceremonial first pitch began back in 1910, with US President William Howard Taft marking the first ever person to do it.
There have since been dozens of presidents and former presidents to have had such an honor, with one of the most recent being George W. Bush at the 2023 World Series.
But it’s not just those in politics who are given the chance to take part in the long-standing baseball ritual, lots of celebrities have done it too.
Viral star Haliey Welch threw the first pitch at last night’s (August 15) Mets game. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Some big names over the years include Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, Matthew Broderick, and Kid Cudi. Korean actor Jeon Jong-seo was also given the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game back in March.
Now, following her worldwide viral stardom, Haliey Welch – AKA Hawk Tuah girl – was given the honor at last night’s (August 15) New York Mets game.
However, baseball fans weren’t terribly pleased to see the 22-year-old at Citi Field stadium.
In a video posted on Twitter of Haliey throwing the ball, one sports fan fumed: “What an awful, awful decision to legitimize her and give her a platform.”
Hailey Welch throws out the first pitch at today’s Mets game pic.twitter.com/1iu8MzIlbz
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 15, 2024
Another disgruntled Mets fan said: “Absolutely disgraceful. Whoever made this decision needs to be fired. Embarrassing.”
Noting the NSFW reason Haliey ended up so famous, a third person penned: “Really? The @Mets went with the Hawk Tuah Girl for a summer day game where the vast majority of fans are 11 year old kids at the ballpark on a summer camp trip. Really?”
Echoing similar sentiments, a different person wrote: “All the kids at the baseball game asking their parents and friends what did this girl do to get to throw out the first pitch? Do better MLB!!! This is not a role model!”
Haliey says she was at the game to raise awareness of America’s Vet Dogs. (Instagram/@hay_welch)
Haliey has since responded to the backlash and explained that she was there to raise awareness about a particular charity.
Sharing a video of her time at Citi Field stadium on Instagram, she said: “So I guess the baseball community wasn’t too happy to see me yesterday. That’s okay, the main reason I went to the game was to spread awareness and donate to America’s Vet Dogs @americasvetdogs which pairs dogs with war veterans for a forever home.”
Haliey proceeded to ask people to go to the link in her Instagram Story to donate to America’s Vet Dogs.
