After the girl from Hawk Tuah was recently given the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game, many questions were raised.

The tradition of the ceremonial first pitch began in 1910, when US President William Howard Taft honored the first pitch ever.

Since then, dozens of presidents and former presidents have received this honor, most recently George W. Bush at the 2023 World Series.

But not only politicians have the opportunity to take part in the traditional baseball ritual, many celebrities have also done so.

Viral star Haliey Welch threw out the first pitch at the Mets game last night (August 15). (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

Big names in recent years include Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, Matthew Broderick and Kid Cudi. Korean actor Jeon Jong-seo also had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in March.

After her worldwide viral fame, Haliey Welch – also known as Hawk Tuah Girl – was given this honor last night (August 15) at the New York Mets game.

However, baseball fans were not particularly happy to see the 22-year-old at Citi Field.

In a video posted on Twitter of Haliey throwing the ball, one sports fan fumed: “What a horrible, horrible decision to legitimize her and give her a platform.”

Another angry Mets fan said: “Absolutely scandalous. Whoever made this decision needs to be fired. Embarrassing.”

A third person mentioned the non-work-appropriate reason why Haliey became so famous, writing, “Really? The @Mets went with the Hawk Tuah Girl to a summer game where the vast majority of fans are 11 year old kids who are at the stadium on a summer camp trip. Really?”

Another person expressed similar sentiments, writing, “All the kids at baseball games ask their parents and friends what that girl did to get the right to throw out the first pitch? Do better MLB!!! This is not a role model!”

Haliey says she was at the game to raise awareness for America’s Vet Dogs. (Instagram/@hay_welch)

Haliey has since responded to the backlash, explaining that she was there to raise awareness for a particular charity.

Sharing a video of her time at Citi Field Stadium on Instagram, she said, “I guess the baseball community wasn’t too happy to see me yesterday. That’s okay, the main reason I went to the game was to raise awareness and donate to America’s Vet Dogs @americasvetdogs who pair dogs with war veterans to give them permanent homes.”

Haliey then urged people to follow the link in her Instagram story to donate to America’s Vet Dogs.