A top chief executive has been accused of snatching a child tennis fan’s hat at the US Open – with his firm now facing negative online reviews.
Viral video footage revealed the moments after Polish player Kamil Majchrzak went to the crowd after the biggest win of his career.
The 29-year-old defeated ninth seed Karen Khachanov in a marathon five-set thriller on Thursday – and then was filmed removing his cap and trying to hand it to a child in the crowd on Court 11.
But in ugly scenes, a man standing next to the boy reached out, grabbed the cap and stuffed it into his bag.
That left the youngster looking crestfallen and asking, ‘What are you doing?’ as Majchrzak walked away, unaware of what had just happened.
Now there has been a rising backlash against the hat grabber.
And there appeared online a lengthy statement in his defence, by someone purporting to be the businessman’s lawyer.
Yet that was later deleted, with the legal official telling people he had been falsely mispresented.
Footage shared online from the tennis US Open showed fans responding to the throw of a hat
The clip of the hat snatch has sparked fury online, with fans branding the unidentified man ‘selfish’ and ‘a jerk’ for stealing a moment that should have belonged to a child.
Majchrzak moved to put things right on Friday, taking to Instagram to appeal for help in finding the boy.
‘After the match I didn’t record that my cap didn’t get to the boy,’ he wrote. ‘Thanks to @asicstennis I’ve got enough caps, so I’m prepared for that.
‘Hey guys, could you help me find the kid from my match. If it’s you (or your parents see this), please send me a DM.’
Just hours later, the Polish star confirmed the boy had been located. Sharing the same pictures of the incident on his story, he added: ‘I am impressed by the power of the internet. We got it! All good now.’
Now focus has turned to who seized the cap from the child in the first place, with many pointing the finger at an entrepreneur.
Comments online have included ‘What a pathetic thing to do’, ‘Imagine being grown and snatching from a kid’ and ‘
Another critic wrote: ‘That is called stealing property that doesn’t belong to you, and that is no man a coward, a bully, and a cheat taking from a child?? New low.’
Kamil Majchrzak was signing tried to give his cap to a young boy, but a man snatched it away
The disappointed young boy was seen asking ‘what are you doing?’ after the man took the cap
And yet there appeared a supposed defence of the hat grabber’s actions, from someone posting on website Go Work claiming to be the CEO’s legal representative.
A lengthy post on LinkedIn, purporting to be by a Swedish legal firm’s partner insisted that the filmed ‘actions were neither unlawful nor reprehensible’.
The online comment added: ‘On the contrary – they can be understood as an educational gesture and a form of teaching for a young person.
‘First of all, the cap was not of such value that one could speak of any “loss”.
‘It was an everyday item, which ultimately was handed over to the child. Thus, the child was not deprived of the item but received it.
‘Secondly, the very act of temporarily taking the cap and then giving it back can be interpreted as a lesson in respect for gifted items.
‘It was therefore not about “taking away”, but about highlighting the importance of looking after what one is given.
‘In this sense, the incident takes on the character of symbolic upbringing through experience – the child, instead of passively receiving an item, was engaged in a situation that taught greater awareness and gratitude.
The selfish man then stashed the cap in his bag before the player realised what was happening
‘For this reason, portraying the entire event in negative terms is not only incorrect but also unfair.’
The message claimed the man shown ‘did not commit a wrongful act; rather, he set an example that even small situations can be used as a teaching moment and as an opportunity to talk about how to take care of things that are given to us.’
The statement ended by declaring: ‘Let your outrage ring out as much as it wants. It makes no difference to us.
‘We set the rules of the game, because we have the means, the knowledge, and the position.’
A post on the quoted lawyer’s LinkedIn page later said: ‘In connection with the publicly appearing statements about the incident with the cap at the US Open, I would like to inform you: I do NOT have an account on GoWork, and the opinions published there under my name are NOT my opinions.
‘I have taken legal action to block this content.’
There have been negative responses online, including on the Go Work site in response to the now-deleted lengthy statement: ‘One of the worst companies, not worth wasting your money.’
The Daily Mail has approached those involved for comment.
