Piotr Szczerek faced criticism online, leading him to deactivate his social media accounts.
Piotr Szczerek faced criticism online, leading him to deactivate his social media accounts.
A wealthy businessman who was filmed snatching a tennis star’s cap from a child is facing an intense backlash.
Kamil Majchrzak, a Polish player, was signing autographs after his second-round victory at the US Open in New York on Thursday (local time) when he handed his cap to a youngboy in the crowd.
Broadcast footage then captured the moment that Piotr Szczerek, also from Poland, grabbed the hat from the child and gave it to his wife, who put it in her bag as the boy protested.
After the video was widely shared, Szczerek, the chief executive of Drogbruk, a paving company, was quickly identified, leading to a barrage of criticism online, including on Gowork.pl, a Polish jobs search site.
The backlash eventually prompted Szczerek to deactivate his social media accounts, while Majchrzak managed to make contact with the young fan, named only as Brock, to make amends to him.
“Only an ordinary idiot and a jerk could snatch a hat from a child’s hands,” wrote one Gowork.pl user. “You can’t buy class,” said another critic.
Another added: “If the company’s president so unscrupulously stole a child’s hat, if I were a customer, I would no longer use his services. I’d be afraid he’d steal from me too.”
Kamil Majchrzak met the boy, named only as Brock, after tracing him via social media and gave him another cap as well as posing for photos with him. Photo / Kamil Majchrzak
Szczerek is an amateur competitive tennis player who was introduced to the sport by his wife Anna Szczerek, according to Tenis Magazyn, a Polish news outlet.
The married couple have a private tennis court at their home in Kalisz, Poland, where they once hosted Urszula Radwanska, the Polish tennis veteran.
“It was the most wonderful gift of my life. Our employees came up with the idea and my husband helped them implement it,” Anna Szczerek told the outlet at the time.
Since taking up tennis, Piotr Szczerek has risen to the second division of the amateur Kalisz Tennis Association.
His company reportedly sponsors local sports programmes and up-and-coming tennis players.
Majchrzak, 29, told the New York Post he was “confused” about why Szczerek snatched the cap.
Explaining how the incident unfolded, the player said: “I was pointing, giving the hat, but I had a lot going on after my match, after being super tired and super excited for the win. I just missed it.
“I had like a dead look, if you know what I mean. I’m sure the guy was also acting in the moment of heat, in the moment of emotions.”
Majchrzak appealed to his fans on social media to help him get in touch with the young fan who lost out on the cap.
He was later filmed meeting the young boy, giving him another signed cap and posing for photos with him.
Majchrzak also revealed he had given Piotr Szczerek the contact details for Brock’s mother so he can make amends.
“He also wanted to make things right, so I gave him the credentials for Brock’s mom on the same social media I was using to contact her,” Majchrzak said.
“So maybe he can make things right himself.”
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