The CEO of a Polish paving company “unequivocally” apologized Monday after he was seen on a viral video taking a hat signed by tennis player Kamil Majchrzak from a child during the U.S. Open in New York City.
Piotr Szczerek, the CEO of paving company Drogbruk, was caught on video grabbing a signed hat that it appeared Majchrzak was trying to hand to a child. Video of the incident went viral over the weekend after the Polish tennis star defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov on Thursday.
“I would like to unequivocally apologize to the young boy, his family, all the fans, and the player himself,” Szczerek said in a post on social media on Monday. “I take full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions.”
Szczerek said in the statement it was “never my intent” to take the hat from a young fan, but that he “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 has sent the hat to the boy and extended an apology to his family.
“I believe I did what most of athletes would do in this kind of situation,” Majchrzak said in an email to NBC News, adding that he hoped the boy and his family ultimately had a great day.
On Saturday, Majchrzak shared a photo of himself with the boy on his Instagram story, writing, “Hello World, Together with Brock we wish you a great day!”
In another Instagram story, he shared a photo of himself giving gifts and swag to the young fan.
Drogbruk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
