Polish millionaire and business executive Piotr Szczerek has issued a public apology after sparking outrage when he snatched a signed tennis cap meant for a child during the US Open.
The 50-year-old CEO of paving company Drogbruk was caught on live TV grabbing a cap from Polish player Kamil Majchrzak who had just defeated Russian ninth seed Karen Khachanov.
Majchrzak had been signing autographs and was handing his cap to a young fan named Brock when Szczerek intercepted it and tucked it into his wife’s bag.
The boy’s protests were ignored and the clip quickly went viral on Twitter, Reddit and Eurosport, with Szczerek labelled “the most hated man on the internet”.
On Monday, Szczerek released a lengthy statement on social media, apologising to the child, his family and tennis fans around the world.
“I take full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions. It was never my intent to steal a prized memento from the young fan. I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory, and I believed Majchrzak was handing a hat to me to give to my sons, who had previously asked for autographs. Regardless of what I believed was happening, the actions I took hurt the young boy and disappointed the fans,” he said.
Szczerek said he had since returned the cap to Brock and apologised to his family directly.
“I hope, at least to a small extent, I was able to repair the harm I caused,” he said.
He denied rumours that he or his family had released statements through lawyers in their defence.
“Neither I nor my wife or my sons commented on the situation on social media or on any other platform. We did not hire any law firm regarding this matter. All statements appearing online accredited to us were false,” said Szczerek.
The scandal has had a ripple effect on his company’s reputation as Szczerek was dubbed “the most hated man on the internet”, with comparisons even drawn to awkward celebrity scandals such as the “Coldplay kiss-cam CEO”.
Drogbruk, which Szczerek and his wife Anna founded in 1999 and which sponsors sporting events and Polish athletes, has seen its Google rating plummet to 1.2 stars as people flooded the review section to vent.
Jessica Balascio wrote: “When your leadership steals from a child, I can't imagine how corrupt, vile and entitled the rest of the employees are. This is clearly an environment built on disrespect, dishonesty and distrust.”
Reviewer Emilio Salcedo said: “It is strongly recommended not to make any acquisitions or contracts with this company. Its CEO exhibits behaviour that demonstrates a lack of ethical values.”
In his statement, Szczerek admitted the incident was a humbling moment.
“For years my wife and I have been involved in supporting children and young athletes, but this incident has shown me a moment of inattention can undo years of work and support. It is a painful but necessary lesson in humility,” he said.
He pledged to support youth initiatives and anti-hate campaigns in future, saying: “Only through actions can I rebuild the trust I have lost.”
Majchrzak stepped in to soften the fallout. After the video went viral, he tracked down Brock and reunited with him, gifting a fresh signed cap along with extra memorabilia and photos.
Speaking to the BBC, the 29-year-old said he simply “did what most athletes would do in this kind of situation”, and hoped the boy and his family “had a great day”.
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