Getty Morgan Riddle cheering on boyfriend Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open.
After spending the weekend in Las Vegas for the 2024 Super Bowl, tennis star Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, took to social media to share a distressing account of her experience.
In a series of Instagram Stories posted on Monday, February 12, the 26-year-old Riddle revealed that she and her friends faced “scary” harassment from male fans, including being “grabbed, groped, harassed, [and] cat-called incessantly.”
According to Riddle, the behavior was not something she had ever experienced in the tennis industry. But the dozens of comments she received on her February 12 Instagram photo revealed it may be a common occurrence in the football industry.
Mordan Riddle’s ‘Extremely Stressful & Scary’ Super Bowl Experience
According to Fritz’s girlfriend, the situation reached a peak during the Super Bowl game between the Chiefs and 49ers. Riddle shared that she spent the majority of the third quarter in an Allegiant Stadium restroom, where she suffered a panic attack.
“I have male sports fans who follow me and luckily I’ve never experienced something like this with tennis but I hope any guy reading this understands the gravity of your words and action. We’re all just there to try and watch a football game. Getting grabbed by grown men is scary and I’m sensitive,” Riddle wrote on a video posted to her Instagram story.
The next morning, Riddle posted a photo of Allegiant Stadium on her Instagram Story with the caption, “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, groped, 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.”
In a follow-up Instagram Story, Riddle posted a video of her in the bathroom stall wiping away tears.
Riddle captioned the video: “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?”
Morgan Riddle Was Not Alone in Her Experience
Riddle’s vulnerable messages prompted many of her 245,000 Instagram followers to share their own experiences and offer support.
Courtney Fallon, a host at Reach TV, commented, “I’m so sorry you experienced that at the Super Bowl. As a national TV reporter who’s been in the NFL for over a decade I’m sadly not surprised. You should never feel that way, and saying no and laying your boundaries with strangers is paramount. We’re with you Morgan.”
Another user commented, “My whole life I had dreams of being a sports reporter, and I lasted a year in the industry because of this. Sending love.”
Many Instagram users also thanked Riddle for speaking up. One user wrote, “Thank you for sharing your story and bringing light to this issue.”