Oakland Athletics bench coach Ryan Christenson has apologized for making gestures after a game that looked a lot like Nazi salutes. He said he simply meant to greet players with elbow bumps.
Christenson landed in hot water after being filmed raising his hand to the sky during a post-game celebration, which resembled a Nazi salute. Footage of the incident shows him making the gesture at player Liam Hendriks following the team’s 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
We take this time to introduce you to Oakland A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson … who likely saw his last day on an MLB fieldW … T … F?!?! (@1053TheFan@1053SS@RJChoppy) pic.twitter.com/RlNbeRgjeo
Hendriks pushed Christenson’s arm down and bumped it, after which the coach turned around and briefly made the same salute again.
“I made a mistake and will not deny it,” Christenson said in a statement after facing a backlash on social media. His explanation is that he and the team have been using elbow bumps as a precaution against Covid-19 and that is what he was actually doing on the video.
My gesture unintentionally resulted in a racist and horrible salute that I do not believe in. What I did is unacceptable and I deeply apologize.
The A’s said they “do not support or condone this gesture or the racist sentiment behind it,” and expressed deep sorrow for the incident.
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