The man who has been criticized after footage of him snatching a hat off a young boy at the US Open went viral has apologized, saying he made a “huge mistake.”
Piotr Szczerek, recognized as a Polish chief government, was seen taking a hat from Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak as he tried to present it to the young fan after his second spherical win towards Karen Khachanov on Thursday.
Majchrzak took off his cap and appeared to cross it to the boy who was clutching an enormous tennis ball with each palms. As the boy reached out to take the cap, Szczerek standing subsequent to him snatched it away and gave it to a lady who put it in her purse regardless of the boy’s seen protestations. The boy and Szczerek appeared to not know one another.
The clip subsequently went viral on social media, with many criticizing Szczerek’s habits.
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On Monday, Szczerek apologized for his actions in a post on Facebook, saying he believed “the tennis player was handing his cap to me,” extra particularly to his sons who had “earlier asked for autographs.”
“That mistaken belief made me reach out instinctively. Today I know I did something that looked like deliberately taking a souvenir from a child,” he wrote. “That was not my intention, but it surely doesn’t change the truth that I harm the boy and upset the followers.
“The cap has been handed to the boy, and I have apologized to the family. I hope this has at least partially repaired the damage done.”
Szczerek added: “For years, my spouse and I’ve been concerned in serving to kids and young athletes, however this case confirmed me that one second of inattention can undo years of labor and assist.
“This is a painful but necessary lesson in humility for me. Therefore, I will be even more active in initiatives that support children and youth and in efforts against violence and hate. I believe that only through actions can I rebuild the trust I have lost.”
He concluded his assertion by saying: “I apologize to everyone I let down.”
According to Polish outlet Tenis Magazyn, Szczerek and his spouse Anna based the paving firm Drogbruk in 1999.
In the times after the incident, Majchrzak met the fan who was denied his hat, giving him a US Open-branded bag of items, together with one other cap, and posed for photographs alongside him.
“Today after warm up, I had a nice meeting,” he wrote on his Instagram story. “Do you recognize (cap emoji)?”
“Hello world, together with Brock, we wish you a great day,” he wrote in one other story.
Fellow Polish tennis participant Iga Świątek was requested in regards to the pitfalls that include giving freely attire to followers after matches and defined that she makes an attempt to be thoughtful when she’s doing it.
“Obviously usually, like, seven people reach out for one thing. For example, if it’s a girl and the boys have longer arms, she’s not going to catch it,” the six-time grand slam winner informed reporters after her round-of-16 victory at Flushing Meadows on Monday. “But I often throw, like, at the individual that is meant to get it.
“So I try to be fair kind of, but I pick a person kind of randomly or whoever shouts louder. I know it’s not fair, but obviously not everybody is going to be happy.”