The Polish managing director Piotr Szczerek, who was at the end of an internet shower after a widespread video, showed that he achieved a tennis hat by a young fan during a game broadcast on television, described an apology on Facebook as “big mistake” and recognized his “extremely poor judgment”.
The viral moment occurred last Thursday at the US Open when the Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak, freshly from his angry victory over the ninth seed Karen Khachanov, seemed to be handed over to a young fan named Brock. When the boy reached for the hat, Szczerek, who was nearby, quickly grabbed him and put him in a pocket that was carried with him by a woman.
The incident was recorded on live television and quickly spread through social media. The video collected millions of views and triggered intensive criticism. Users condemned the behavior of Szczerek, with some described him as “most hated man on the Internet”. You can watch the incident below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_gasqcodrs
Who is Piotr Szczrek?
Szczerek is the CEO and co-founder of Drogbruk, a Polish paving and landscaping company that he founded in 1999 with his wife Anna. The company, based in Błaszki, Poland, specializes in paving stones, concrete slabs, fence systems and decorative landscaping solutions. Drogbruk has developed into a successful company that sponsors local sports programs, including tennis tournaments and the Davis Cup team from Poland. Szczerek is deeply involved in tennis, has a private tennis court in his luxury house in Kalisz and together the Calisia Tennis Pro Club.
Initially, Szczerek did not apologize for his actions in the tennis game. Instead, he doubled with an explanation in the Polish Job Forum -Gowork, who only intensified and wrote the backlash: “The recent incident in the tennis game has led to a disproportionate online uprising. It is of course about the famous hat. Of course I took it. Yes, I did it quickly.
He continued: “I understand that some people may not like it, but please do not let us get a global scandal out of our hat. It's just a hat. If you were faster, you would have it.”
The explanation ended with the threat of legal steps against critics: “I remind you that the insult of a public personality is subject to legal liability. All offensive comments, defamation and assumptions are analyzed to bring the matter to trial.”
In particular, the comment “First come, first served” triggered an even more serious wave of criticism online. But this time the counter -reaction stretched to his business, with Drogbruk fell from over 600 reviews to 1.2 stars to 1.2 stars and most of them were released within hours after the viral incident. The company's Trustpilot page was also flooded with negative ratings that were pointed out to the incident. Trustpilot finally closed the company's side due to the media's attention for new reviews.
The apology and course correction
After Szczerek changed the course on Monday and issued a comprehensive apology and written on Facebook: “I would like to apologize to the boy, his family, all fans and the player.
The CEO claimed that he had misunderstood the situation and believed that Majchrzak gave him his own sons who had previously requested autographs. “I was caught in the heat of the moment and in the joy of victory and thought wrongly, Majchrzak gave me my hat to give my sons.
“Regardless of what I happened, my actions injured the boy and disappointed the fans. The hat was returned to the boy, and apologies were made to the family.” Szczerek also said that earlier statements that were attributed to him online were made and distanced himself from the comments “First come, for the first time”.
The incident ultimately had a positive result for Brock, the young fan in the center of controversy. The tennis player Majchrzak, who initially did not know that the hat had been recorded, started a social media campaign to find the boy after seeing the viral video. Within a few days, Majchrzak successfully joined Brock and his family and met with the boy to present him with a replacement hat and additional US open goods and to share photos of her reunion on Instagram.