A pre-game incident in the stands at Wrigley Field went viral on social media, leading to a heated debate over appropriate anthem behaviour after one fan smacked another.
The video posted on X showed two fans in a section behind home plate as The Star-Spangled Banner was being performed prior to Sunday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins.
While almost the entirety of the section was on their feet for the U.S. national anthem, one fan remained seated – which didn’t sit well with the man behind him.
The older man, who was wearing a grey Cubs jersey, yelled “Get up” at the younger fan before leaning over to speak to him.
The younger fan, wearing a white shirt with a black and red design on the back, appeared to shake his head and say “no” before things escalated.
The older Cubs fan reached back and then smacked him across the back of the head with his left hand.
The younger fan then stood up as other fans in the area took notice.
“Thank you, thank you so much young man,” the older man appeared to say after the young fan followed his demand.
Who was right and who was wrong?
“Guy at a Chicago Cubs game refuses to stand during the National Anthem!” X user @LibOrNormal wrote alongside the video posted. “The guy behind him gets pissed and does this ….”
The user also wrote “Stand up or get smacked!” over the clip.
Since being posted on Monday morning, the video has racked up more than 9.4 million views with 59,000 likes and thousands of replies.
Many commenters backed the older fan, calling the younger one “very disrespectful.”
“Good to see,” one user replied.
“Give this man a medal!” another commented
“Should have made him sing too just for trying to pull that,” a third user joked.
Will charges be filed?
But while most users sided with the older man, many others felt that it was the younger fan’s right to remain seated and also noted that the incident could be considered assault.
“He committed assault on camera … stupid thing to do in this day and age,” one user replied.
“He has the right to sit down. That’s his prerogative. I would have slapped the s*** out of that old man for putting hands on me,” another wrote.
“As a former vet, we fought for the right to sit or stand. Leave him alone as long as he’s not impeding on anyone else’s right,” a third user commented.
TMZ reported that Chicago Police have been made aware of the incident, but no police report had been filed as of Monday evening.