A strange incident unfolded during Saturday's MLS match between DC United and the visiting Chicago Fire when a toddler ran onto the field.
It happened in the 50th minute with the Fire leading 4-0. The ball had just gone out of bounds along the sideline and the Fire were throwing it back in when the toddler somehow found his way onto the pitch and began running around. Officials blew the whistle as a member of security picked up the toddler and carried him over to the sideline to reunite him with his mother, who brought him back into the stands.
Baby on the field! 😂 pic.twitter.com/68tDmyt0Jo
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 8, 2025
We have seen some incidents like this before, but on a basketball court. Back in 2016, a kid ran on the court to hug Carmelo Anthony during a Knicks-Pelicans NBA game. In 2013, another kid ran onto the court during a Baylor-Oklahoma men's college basketball game.
The most important thing is that the kid is OK and no one got hurt, but incidents like these raise so many questions. Not only does this raise questions about the parents not paying close enough attention to their kid, but also raises issues about stadium security not being alert enough to prevent this kid from getting onto the field and interrupting the match. This cannot happen. Normally, a fan who runs onto the field would be ejected from the stadium. In this case, the toddler doesn't know any better, but maybe the whole family needs to be moved to an area of the stadium where the kid can't get into trouble.
As far as the game action, the Fire crushed DC United 7-1.
[@MLS]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
