Oakland Athletics bench coach Ryan Christenson apologized for giving what looked like two Nazi salutes to his players after the A's beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Thursday.
Judge for yourself:
https://twitter.com/laaabaseball/status/1291536810233851906
The video soon went viral, forcing Christenson to give some explanation for his actions:
“I made a mistake and will not deny it,” said Christenson in a statement released by the team. “I greeted players with a gesture that was offensive. In the world today of Covid, I adopted our elbow bump, which we do after wins, to create some distance with the players. 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 Athletics also released a joint statement of their own:
“A's bench coach Ryan Christensen greeted players with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute. We do not support or condone this gesture or the racist sentiment behind it. This is incredibly offensive, especially in these times when we as a Clib and so many others are working to expose and address racial inequalities in our country. We are deeply sorry that this happened on our playing field.”
It's tough to point out intent here, especially when Major League Baseball recently cracked down to ask players, coaches, and staff to do better with health and safety protocols to avoid the novel coronavirus.
People like Christenson have to get creative when it comes to greeting others and celebrating, something that is embedded in baseball culture. This elbow salute was a surefire oversight by Christenson he has apologized for, hopefully closing the book on a greeting that obviously has no place in the game.
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