The millionaire CEO Piotr Szczerek has apologized after grabbing a hat from a boy at the US Open. The boy, named Brock, had just been handed the cap by tennis player Kamil Majchrzak after his five set win when the businessman reached in and took it.
Video of the moment spread fast online, with people calling it disgusting and bullying. Szczerek posted on Facebook to admit fault.
He said: “Due to the situation that happened during Kamil Majchrzak’s match at the US Open, I would like to clearly apologize to the injured boy, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself. I have made a huge mistake.”
He explained that he thought Majchrzak was tipping the hat toward his own sons who had been asking for autographs. He added: “The misconception caused me to pull out my hand. Today I know I did something that looked like a deliberate collection of the child’s souvenir.”
The CEO continued: “This was not my intention, but it doesn’t change the fact I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans. The hat was given to the boy, and apologies to the family. I hope. Just partly. I have repaired the hurt that has been done.”
He stressed that it was his official response, because there had been fake statements online. He said: “I also want to make it clear, neither myself, nor my wife, nor my sons have commented on this situation on social media as well as on any portal. We have not used the services of any office legal in this regard. All alleged statements appearing online are not ours.”
Majchrzak himself later tracked down Brock and met with him. He posted a photo with the boy and wrote: “It was a very nice meeting. I wanted to meet the boy Brock and his family and just try to make things right for him.”
He also 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.”
The player gave Brock another hat through a sponsor and passed along the family’s contact details to Szczerek.
The backlash has grown beyond tennis fans. People flooded reviews of Szczerek’s paving company Drogbruk, knocking it down to 1.4 stars. Trustpilot shut down the page completely after the flood of bad ratings.
The CEO admitted: “For years, my wife and I have been engaged in helping children and young athletes, but this situation has shown I think that one moment of disregard can ruin years of work and support. It hurts for me, but a needed lesson in humility. I believe that only through actions can rebuild what has been lost trust.”
He closed his post by saying: “Again, I’m sorry to anyone I disappointed. Please understand – for my family’s sake – I decided to turn off the option comments on this post.”
