“Stealing candy from a baby” is generally a metaphor. But, many may say, it’s close to literally true with a Polish CEO and millionaire who snatched an autographed hat meant for a child at the US Open tennis tournament on Thursday.
Worse still, the foreign Daddy Warbucks, identified as Piotr Szczerek, head of Polish paving company Drogbruk, has doubled down. “If you were faster — you would have it,” he wrote in a brazen Saturday open letter. Moreover, he has threatened to sue people who insult him.
The incident occurred after Polish player Kamil Majchrzak bested opponent Karen Khachanov in a marathon five-set, second-round contest at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City. As Majchrzak was autographing items post-match for courtside spectators, he attempted to hand a signed cap to a young boy. This is when Szczerek, seated to the lad’s right, quickly reached over and snatched the cap practically from the child’s hand. The millionaire then stuffed the item into a bag held by his wife, Anna. For her part, she was busy smiling and blithely snapping selfies.
The boy, later identified just as “Brock,” could be seen protesting, asking Szczerek “What are you doing?!” He then attempted to get Majchrzak’s attention. But the player was unaware of the skulduggery and was busy with other fans (video below).
The good news is that the story has a somewhat happy ending. After Majchrzak learned of the snatching, he used the internet to track down Brock. He then met the boy, gave him an identical cap — and more — and took a picture with the beaming child.
More good news is that Szczerek has been roundly condemned in just about every way imaginable. In fact, while reading the pejoratives hurled his way, I learned a new one: “You beetroot!” “Buraku” in Polish, beetroot means “redneck” or “yahoo.” As for Anglosphere condemnations, the Daily Mail provides a sampling:
“Only an ordinary idiot and a jerk could snatch a hat from a child’s hands,” one person wrote….
Another raged: “If the company’s president so unscrupulously stole a child’s hat, if I were a customer, I would no longer use his services.”
While a third added: “That is called stealing property that doesn’t belong to you, and that is no man a coward, a bully, and a cheat taking from a child?? New low.”
Some commenters also made an obvious point. That is, if Szczerek behaves as he did with a child, what might he do to his customers?
And a YouTube poster kept it short and not so sweet, saying “That’s psychopathy for you!”
Many may say, too, that Szczerek is vindicating this assessment. After all, far from apologizing, he apparently believes he did nothing wrong and has taken the offense. As he wrote Saturday on a Polish website (auto-translated from Polish):
The last event at a tennis match caused a disproportionate storm on the Internet. Of course, we are talking about the famous cap. Yes, I took it. Yes, I did it quickly. But I have always said — in life there is a rule: first come, first served.
I understand that some people may not like it, but please — let’s not make a world-class scandal out of a hat. It’s just a hat. If you were faster — you would have it.
As for hate speech on the Internet — I would like to remind you that insulting a public figure is subject to legal liability. Any offensive comments, slander and insinuations will be analysed in terms of the possibility of taking the case to court.
Finally, keep your head up, hats on your head, less venom, more sporty spirit.
Yet the “spirit” is the point. Obviously, this isn’t about a “hat,” but immoral behavior. A small item from a professional athlete may mean a lot to a child. But it should be inconsequential to a mature adult. In fact, a good man, Mr. Szczerek, would derive far more pleasure from seeing a child’s face light up at getting such a trifling item than he ever would from possessing it himself. You, sir, need to work on your sense of virtue — something money can’t buy.
Now to the happy ending. Many of us complain (rightly) about modernity’s moral decay. Yet as this story reflects, there still is much goodness in the world. Szczerek has gotten virtually no support and has, at least for now, become “the most hated man on the internet.”
Moreover, as mentioned, Majchrzak met with little Brock (video below), made him more than whole and made his day.
So remember, every time there’s a candidate for the Hall of Shame, there are usually many others for the Hall of Acclaim. So shine on, and let your better angels reign.