Apology Following Viral Incident
Piotr Szczerek, the CEO of the Polish paving company Drogbruk, has expressed regret over an incident at the U.S. Open where he took a game-worn hat from Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak, inadvertently snatching it away from a child. Szczerek described his actions as stemming from “extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions.”
He explained that he believed the hat was being offered to him for his sons when he seized it at the same time a young boy reached for it. Following the incident, Szczerek showed the hat to his sons before putting it in a bag. When the boy queried, “What are you doing?” the situation quickly escalated.
Reactions and Apology
The footage of the hat snatching became a viral sensation, drawing significant backlash against Szczerek. In a statement on social media, he conveyed, “I would like to unequivocally apologize to the young boy, his family, all the fans, and the player himself. It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan. I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory … Regardless of what I believed was happening, the actions I took hurt the young boy and disappointed the fans.”
Szczerek reported that he had since reached out to the boy and his family, even sending the child the hat as a gesture of goodwill.
Majchrzak’s Support for the Young Fan
The incident occurred shortly after Majchrzak’s victory over Russian player Karen Khachanov in the second round on a Thursday. While Majchrzak did not witness the hat being taken, he learned of it later and appealed to social media followers for assistance in locating the boy.
Thanks to his Instagram followers, Majchrzak was able to meet the boy, named Brock, following his warm-up on Saturday. He presented Brock with a new hat and a swag bag, sharing moments from their meeting on his Instagram story, captioning one photo: “Hello World, Together with Brock we wish you a great day!”
Reflections from Fellow Players
Later that day, Majchrzak retired from his third-round match against Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi due to injury. The incident has highlighted the challenges players face when interacting with fans post-match.
Top-seeded player Iga Świątek remarked on the difficulty of navigating fan interactions, stating she often finds herself in awkward situations when several fans vie for the same item. “I pick a person kind of randomly or whoever shouts louder,” she admitted, acknowledging the unfairness of such choices.
Felix Auger-Aliassime shared his own experiences from when he was younger, recalling an incident where he was injured while attempting to grab a wristband. “After that, I would kind of just stay back and let the others fight for the sweaty stuff,” he mentioned.
