NFL fan bases can be quite cruel.
NFL fans can be the worst sometimes, and Reese Donatelli is finding that out at the age of 4.
What began as a lighthearted father-daughter NFL tradition has become something worse. It has morphed into an unsettling example of how fans can become unhinged over their favorite teams. A 4-year-old who went viral for NFL picks is now dealing with adult-level ugliness.
Her father says strangers sent their family death threats and money demands after her playoff predictions missed. Just last week, Reese made her picks for the upcoming slate of Divisional Round matchups just as she did the previous week before that. However, during the Wild Card round, she got every single game wrong.
Fans of the teams Reese picked in the divisional round got worried. Many of them had viral responses to Reese Donatelli picking their team to win.
The Backlash Towards Reese Donatelli Can Be Traced To Cardi B
The story picked up extra heat when Cardi B weighed in. She jumped on Instagram Live after Reese picked the New England Patriots to win. Cardi B joked: “little white girl said we’re going to win. F— that, b—-,” then immediately apologized, saying, “I didn’t mean to say that.”
This was the same time she called out ESPN for picking against them. That moment mattered because it put a spotlight on the kid.
Reese’s father, Anthony Donatelli, says this entire moment has turned into an online nightmare that he calls “nuts.” Her videos amassed millions of views and thousands of likes and comments, but the bad has outweighed the good.
As her misses went viral, the “Trust the Toddler” comments section turned dark. Things began reaching a breaking point when Reese Donatelli and her family received death threats.
“She’s obviously not an NFL analyst,” Donatelli told the Los Angeles Times. “She’s picking teams based on the color of her dress, or she’ll pick the Packers because she likes cheese. She just relates these silly little things as reasons why she picks certain teams.”
Donatelli called Cardi B’s comments ‘unfortunate’ but clarified he was not looking for an issue.
‘I’m not here to fight fire with fire. I’m not angry,’ he said. ‘We don’t want anybody or anything to ruin what Reese and I have created and how we bond.’
Anthony Donatelli has since made his Instagram private amid the backlash.
