2 weeks ago
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London: A business chief who snatched a cap from a young boy at the US Open has apologised for his “huge mistake” after being caught on camera taking it despite the boy’s protests.
Polish businessman Piotr Szczerek admitted taking the cap from tennis star Kamil Majchrzak and said the “single moment of indifference” could destroy his years of work in helping young athletes.
But he said he was convinced the tennis star was giving him the cap because his sons had asked for autographs earlier.
The footage of the moment has made global headlines and sparked strong criticism of Szczerek for reaching out quickly to take the cap from Majchrzak, who appeared to be holding it out to the boy.
Szczerek passed the cap to his wife despite the protests from the boy, while the tennis star continued to sign autographs and seemed unaware of the dispute.
With coverage of the moment spreading fast online, Majchrzak turned to social media to try to make contact with the boy and his family.
Hours later, Majchrzak met the boy at the US Open, handed him a cap and posted the meeting on Instagram.
Szczerek is the chief executive of a Polish paving company, Drogbruk, and is facing a powerful backlash that could undermine his business after he was named by social media users who watched the footage of the incident.
Szczerek issued an apology on Facebook on Monday but made sure to turn comments off so he did not incur more of the outrage.
“I would like to unequivocally apologise to the injured boy, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself,” he wrote.
“I have made a huge mistake. Emotionally, in the crowd cheering after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was passing his hat in my direction – for my sons who had asked for autographs earlier.
“Today I know I did something that seemed like consciously collecting a memento from a child. This wasn’t my intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans. The hat was given to the boy, and apologies to the family.”
The viral moment demonstrates the power of social media to reveal private identities and subject people to global shame.
In July, a kiss cam video of a couple at a Coldplay concert led online sleuths to identify the pair as the married chief executive of software firm Astronomer and the company’s human relations chief.
The chief executive, Andy Byron, and the HR officer, Kristin Cabot, stepped down from their jobs after it captured global headlines.
In an incident in the early years of social media site Twitter, now called X, a young woman made a joke in poor taste before boarding a flight to South Africa and arrived at her destination 11 hours later to discover she was the subject of online outrage.
Her post said: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white.” While she said this was a remark about privilege, she was shamed online and lost her job.
Szczerek acknowledged the damage to his reputation from the brief moment caught on camera at Flushing Meadow, the home of the US Open.
“For years, my wife and I have been engaged in helping children and young athletes, but this situation has shown me that a single moment of indifference can destroy years of work and support,” he said.
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