Live, the scene went unnoticed, but when the video reached social networks, everything jumped through the air. After the second round of the US Open between Karen Khachanov and Kamil Majchrzak, the latter approached the stands to give his cap to a child. It was then that an adult, pounced on the little one and beat the gift of the tennis player.
The virality Of the images in networks he made the protagonist the authentic villain of the United States Open. He, meanwhile, justified his action claiming that “life goes by order of arrival”, threatening even to take legal actions against him who defamed him.
Now, just over a day after the scene reached worldwide popularity, Szczerek has caught the social pressure and apologized in a shared statement on its Facebook profile.
“I would like to apologize unequivocally with the young man, his family, all fans and the player himself,” the businessman starts; “I assume all the responsibility for my lack of criteria and my hurtful actions. It was never my intention to steal a precious memory of the young fan. I got carried away by the heat of the moment and the joy of victory, and I believed that Majchrzak was giving me a cap to give it to my children, who had previously asked me autographs.”
“Regardless of what I thought I was happening, my actions hurt the young man and disappointed the fans, so I returned the cap to the young man and offered my most sincere apologies to his family,” he adds; “I hope, at least to a small extent, have been able to repair the damage I caused.”
Kamil Majchrzak meeting the young boy who had the hat taken from him the other day at the US Open.
A happy ending… this is what it’s all about.
Protect this man at all costs. 🥹
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter)
“I also want to make it clear that neither I, my wife, nor my children have commented on this scene on social networks nor on any other platform; all the statements that have appeared online and that we were attributed are false and have not been written by us nor by our representatives,” he warned.
“For years, my wife and I have supported children and young athletes, but this incident has shown me that a moment of neglect can take years of work and support … It is a lesson of painful but necessary humility,” he said, before warning that, for the good of his family, he would deactivate the possibility of commenting on the publication on Facebook; “From now on, I will participate even more actively in initiatives to support children and young people, and I will take measures against violence and hate. I think only acting so I can reconstruct the confidence I have lost.”
