This reminds me of the exact phenomenon Graham Norton mentioned when pressed about JK Rowling, to which he replied that anything he said would be turned into “Graham Norton Slams…” and clickbait, and suggested the press talk to trans people/experts instead. At least I’m trans!
The sign contains the following message in Portuguese; "Please don't take my (little) ball away. If it's on the street, it's because I threw it for people to play with me. Return it through the gate to make me happy. This ball means everything to me.".