VIDEO: Cadets and Midshipmen May Have Flashed White Power Sign on ESPN During Army-Navy Pregame
By Michael Luciano
A dominant performance from quarterback Malcolm Perry might have lifted Navy to a dominant win over Army, but the most shocking moment in this year's Army-Navy game might have come during the festivities before the action got underway. A few unnamed cadets and midshipmen appear to have been seen flashing an "OK" sign, which has been co-opted by several white supremacist movements, behind Rece Davis on College GameDay.
— Looky Yonder (@YonderLooky) December 14, 2019
The upside down "OK" sign was originally being used as an ironic gesture by members of the controversial discussion board 4chan to co-opt a traditional hand gesture as racist. However, when the New Zealand mosque shooter used the sign without any apparent irony on his March 15 massacre, it entered the white supremacist lexicon.
A Chicago Cubs fan who flashed this gesture on live TV at a game in May was since banned from Wrigley Field.
While some have been quick to defend these students, as they claim they were just playing the "circle game" that requires the same sign with no racial meaning attached to it, putting it on national TV is an embarrassment.
The symbol, like almost all others, has more than one meaning… And while it could be the Circle Game. If so it shows, at a minimum, poor judgment.
— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) December 15, 2019
We train our officer corps to have highly developed critical thinking skills and judgment. And these are the most elite. https://t.co/hIrEUwQXRk
The intent of either the cadets or the midshipmen is still up in the air. However, if the worst case scenario is proven to be true and this turns out to be a white power sign, it will assuredly lead to serious consequences for those involved.