\u201cI just regret my choice of words the most, and who that affects in my life,\u201d he said, referring to unnamed women. \u201cSo I\u2019m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong blamed it on his intensity and called it a \u201clack of awareness.\u201d He did not apologize to the fan, who reportedly provoked Crow-Armstrong by telling him some version of \u201cyou suck,\u201d which long ago replaced \u201cyou\u2019re a bum\u201d among popular fan insults.<\/p>\n
![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-WHITE-SOX-CUBS-145_262754602-e1779145761662.jpg\")
Fans yell at Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) after he jumped and missed a fly ball during the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on May 17, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Manager Craig Counsell agreed that the word choice was inappropriate, but stopped short of saying players should completely ignore harassing fans. It\u2019s easy to say, but harder to do when they\u2019re two feet away from someone divided by a fence.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not here to defend Crow-Armstrong, who is old enough to know better. But the fan who tried to get a reaction from him for social media \u2014 and succeeded \u2014 should also be embarrassed for behaving like a meathead. Yes, women can be meatheads, too.<\/p>\n
Of course, this is nothing new in sports. American idiots have been around hassling athletes forever. The only thing that\u2019s changed is the verbiage and the viral videos, and maybe the fact that women seem to be as abusive as men at some venues.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been covering stuff like this for decades. Thirty years ago this week, I was covering a White Sox-Brewers game at County Stadium when a Brewers fan provoked Sox outfielder Tony Phillips, making profane remarks about his mother.<\/p>\n
Instead of ignoring the fan, Phillips told him to meet him under the bleachers, then removed himself from the game, put on his street clothes, walked out to the bleachers and called the fan down from his seat. The two then argued, Phillips called him a \u201cfat white boy,\u201d the fan shoved the outfielder and Phillips decked him. The cops came and arrested Phillips<\/a> on a misdemeanor battery charge, and we had a story that got national attention.<\/p>\n The next day, I called the Brewers fan and asked why he came down when Phillips confronted him.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I didn\u2019t think he\u2019d hit me,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought he\u2019d just yell at me. But he gets in my face and says, \u2018You\u2019re talking a lot for a fat white boy.\u2019 I said, \u2018You should be used to heckling.\u2019 He clobbered me twice, I hit the ground and he left.\u201d<\/p>\n The charges were eventually dropped, and the American League fined Phillips $5,000. I asked him if he expected the incident to stay with him the rest of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are going to say what they want to say,\u201d Phillips replied. \u201cThey always do. Fans are going to say things. I opened myself up to that criticism, so I can accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n Crow-Armstrong is still at the beginning of his career, and with so many kids who idolize him, he probably needs to be aware of what he says in public.<\/p>\n Cubs fans are not immune from stupidity either. Who can forget the night game in 2009 when a fan in the bleachers dumped beer on the head of Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino<\/a>?<\/p>\n Cubs security targeted the wrong guy while the real culprit got away, leading to an all-out search by the Chicago police and every media outlet in town.<\/p>\n Eventually, the alleged beer-tosser, 21-year-old Johnny Macchione, turned himself in and was charged with two misdemeanor counts. \u201cBum takes rap,\u201d<\/a> read the Chicago Tribune headline, a play on the term \u201cbleacher bum\u201d and the old-time baseball insult Joe DiMaggio apparently preferred.<\/p>\n \u201cChicago Cubs, I\u2019m sorry I disgraced you,\u201d Macchione said as he left Belmont Area police headquarters. He told the Tribune it was \u201can impulsive move\u201d and there was \u201cno excuse\u201d for his behavior. To his credit, he accepted responsibility for his actions and didn\u2019t just say it was the wrong choice of beers.<\/p>\n![\"CHICAGO](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ctc-z-85139944JD021_PHILADELPHIA__118258736.jpg\")
Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies is hit by a beer thrown by a fan in the bleachers as he makes a catch in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 12, 2009, at Wrigley Field. (Jonathan Daniel\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n