A MAGA hat worn by a front-row spectator at Game 1 of the World Series ignited a social media backlash among left-leaning baseball fans. The woman, seated behind home plate, became the target of furious posts on social media during Friday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.

Critics online, including Alex Timmons, a California high school baseball coach, demanded that the Dodgers ban “divisive political statements” from the stadium, calling the woman a “piece of shit” and accusing her of “looking for attention.” On X (formerly Twitter), he questioned, “Hey @Dodgers, you gonna do anything about really divisive political statements on such an important world wide event like this?”

Bethany Cosentino, a singer from the indie duo Best Coast, posted her own hostile remark, stating she “hope[s] this bitch behind home plate in a MAGA hat at the dodger game gets hit with a foul ball.” Meanwhile, a user named Joshua Cain added his voice with an expletive-laden message, and another, identified as Matt, criticized both the woman’s hat and the Dodgers for allowing it in the stadium.

Despite the backlash, some applauded her bold display of support for former President Trump in such a public setting. Tim Murtaugh, an author, posted, “Shoutout to the MAGA Hat lady at Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. The 9-year effort to drive Trump supporters into the shadows has failed.” Dan Hauser, a chief strategist for Sen. Mike Lee, similarly noted that “liberals that are watching the #WorldSeries2024 are having to stare at the MAGA hat directly behind home plate.”

The spectator’s headwear sparked a divide among viewers, with vocal critics on one side and supporters on the other, demonstrating the strong reactions that visible political statements continue to provoke at major public events.