Hawk Tuah Girl Defends Her First Pitch Honors at Mets Game

Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game is a time-honored tradition, one that’s reserved for special dignitaries. The honor is bestowed upon those who’ve earned the spotlight — from beloved celebrities to every-day heroes in the community.

The New York Mets’ decision to have Haliey Welch — better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl” — participate in Thursday’s pregame festivities didn’t rise to that lofty level of respect, at least not for the disapproving masses on social media.

WFAN Radio’s Sal Licata was the loudest to express his outrage.

At the heart of the anti-Hawk Tauh Girl sentiment seems to be the genesis of her celebrity, which began with a viral video that lit up the internet in June. If you’ve been living under a rock or existing somehow without internet access all summer, you can watch it here.

Welch saw the furor over her appearance at Citi Field, and she decided to give more context on her invitation from the Mets in posts on her X and Instagram accounts.

“So I guess some of the baseball community wasn’t too happy to see me yesterday,” Welch wrote. “The main reason I went to the game was to spread awareness and donate to America’s vet dogs which pairs dogs with war veterans for a forever home.”

She closed with a request: “Join me in donating to this amazing charity.”

Will Welch’s explanation change the minds of her haters? Sadly, probably not.