[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The Super Bowl might’ve been a night of fun for many, but Instagram influencer Morgan Riddle is opening up about her experience was ruined due to “male fans”.
The girlfriend of tennis star Taylor Fritz was excited to be attending the biggest NFL game of the year at first, but on her Stories Sunday night she confessed she spent the entire third quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers game in the bathroom because of a panic attack. She addressed her fans with a selfie that showed her tearful eyes. See that post (below):
It wasn’t until later did the 26-year-old tell her story on what happened. In a series of posts to her Stories following that one, she explained how her time in Las Vegas had been a nightmare for the whole weekend because of how bad she and her friends were harassed:
“Wasn’t going to post about this but I actually think it’s important to. I can’t believe the levels of harassment we dealt with this weekend from men. In the last 3 days I’ve been grabbed, gropped (sic), harassed, cat called incessantly – basically every few minutes when we were out in public. And it was really bad at the game today. We couldn’t even enjoy the game without getting bothered by drunk, rude, gross male fans. It’s extremely stressful and scary.”
So awful!
Related: OMG You Have To See Travis Kelce’s 2010 Super Bowl Tweet!
The influencer went on to tell a disturbing story about how an older man was using his child as a way to hit on her and her friends. Over a video that showed her crying and panicking in the Allegiant Stadium restroom, she wrote:
“There was a father at the game with his son who looked about 10 years old. He used his kid as a vehicle to try to hit on us – and his own son, a child, turned to him and said ‘dad, what are you doing?’ how do you think little boys become obnoxious men?”
She made it clear she doesn’t believe all male sports fans are like this — but still, it’s no excuse to grab or grope anyone:
“I have male sports fans who follow me and luckily I’ve never experienced something like this with tennis but I just hope any guy reading this understands the gravity of your words and actions. We’re all just there to try and watch a football game. Getting grabbed by grown men is scary and insensitive.”
See her full statement (below):
In response to her story, though, of course some misogynistic replier had to mention her outfit choice. NOTHING you’re wearing will ever make any sort of harassment acceptable — but Morgan’s response is all the more heartbreaking. She simply attached a photo to the commenter’s insensitive remark of her very modest look she wore to the game.
As she said, everyone is just there to enjoy the game! Women shouldn’t have to worry about their safety or creepy men trying to hit on them while just trying to have a nice night out with friends. We’re sending so much love and support Morgan’s way.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Morgan Riddle/Instagram]
