Hard to feel bad for the viral 4-year old, NFL game picker, who is now receiving death threats for losing bets

So let me get this straight. There’s a Southern California radio guy that turns his 4-year old daughter into a content machine on social media by posting her NFL picks. The content goes viral and now we’re all supposed to feel bad that the comment section predictably turned into a wasteland of criticism, hate, and death threats?

Not going to happen, brother.

Viral 4-year-old Southern California girl gets death threats over NFL picks

Viral 4-year-old Southern California girl gets death threats over NFL picks https://t.co/Isp6wnL7Ew pic.twitter.com/2FkNlbeMCm

— New York Post (@nypost) January 22, 2026

What started as a wholesome father-daughter thing between Reese Donatelli and her dad, Anthony Donatelli, has spiraled into an online meltdown. The videos were part of a series called “Trust the Toddler.” The concept was simple and harmless. Teach a preschooler colors and geography using mini NFL helmets.

Let her pick winners and have social media buzzing about the next great gambling mind. Seems innocent enough, right?

Well, it was… then the Wild Card round happened.

Reese started missing picks. A lot of them, becoming a reverse jinx for teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and that’s when the comment section predictably turned on her.

According to reports, the situation escalated to the point where the family began receiving explicit threats because Reese went on a cold streak. Adults were losing money because of it.

In came the “explicit threats” over contact that “was never meant to be taken seriously in the first place.” Tragic, until you take a moment to think about how this all unfolded. First, you have a viral sensation. Next, you have an enemy and someone who can’t hit a bet to save their life.

I wonder what part the Donatelli family had issues with?

Anthony Donatelli voiced his concerns with the Los Angeles Times:

“She’s obviously not an NFL analyst. She’s picking teams based on the color of her dress, or she’ll pick the Packers because she likes cheese.”

Yeah no shit Anthony. Save your sob story for someone else.

I feel zero remorse for a father who willingly walks his preschooler into the wasteland of social media and then acts stunned when the wasteland behaves like the wasteland.

This is the internet. Not Sesame Street.

You don’t get to put a kid on the rails for clicks and then pretend you didn’t know the train was coming.

Also, none of this even makes sense logically. What’s actually happening here?

Seems like an easy problem to solve. We are dealing with a dad and a 4-year old. How about you stop posting your daughter on the internet and then the comments will immediately stop. Why are you continuing to post things and then running to media outlets like the Los Angeles Times to cry about it?

Just unplug your daughter from the internet and keep it moving, you idiot.

Not to mention, this is just a part of showbiz, baby. When you’re in the gambling game, then you’re in it. No judgment based on sex, race, creed, religion, or age. You’re predicting NFL football games on a public platform.

The content is viral. People are following the picks and losing money.

When you go on an 0-8 streak, it makes people upset and they are going to let you hear about it. Period. That’s the deal. You don’t get to cry foul because you don’t like the feedback for botching NFL Wild Card Weekend.

Forget about the angry gambler crowd. They are far from the main story here. This is really about the adult who decided to make his kid a weekly content asset in a space that is famously unregulated, aggressively mean, and powered by the most emotionally unstable people on earth.

If you put a toddler in front of the internet, the internet is going to react. Yes, threatening a child is unhinged, indefensible behavior. If you’re sending threats over football picks, you’re not a “degenerate,” you’re just broken.

Still, the solution is not hand-wringing about “how could this happen?” The solution is simple. Stop using your 4-year-old as a brand.

If “Trust the Toddler” is really about teaching colors and geography, do it at home.

If it’s about going viral, then admit that. Because right now it looks like the kid is being used as a shield. Cute face up front, dad monetizing behind it, and when it turns ugly, he gets to play victim while the internet argues in circles.

The internet didn’t change. Gambling Twitter didn’t change. Comment sections didn’t change. The only thing that changed is someone decided a preschooler belonged in the middle of it.

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