The person on the heart of probably the most weird US Open controversies has lastly damaged his silence. Piotr Szczerek, the Polish CEO filmed snatching a signed cap from a toddler, admitted he made a “severe mistake” after the viral clip turned him into the web’s newest villain.“I want to unequivocally apologize to the boy who was harmed, his household, in addition to all of the followers and the participant himself,” Szczerek wrote on Instagram. “It’s a painful however needed lesson in humility for me.”“Within the feelings, within the crowd’s pleasure after the victory, I used to be satisfied that the tennis participant was handing the cap in my route — for my sons, who had earlier requested for autographs,” he added.“It’s a painful however needed lesson in humility for me.”However whereas his apology struck a somber tone, the web hasn’t been fast to forgive – or neglect.The seize that shocked followersThe drama started after Polish tennis star Kamil Majchrzak’s victory on the 2025 US Open. As he leaned down handy a signed cap to a younger fan named Brok, Szczerek swooped in, snatched it mid-air, and stashed it in his spouse’s purse. Cameras caught each second, and inside hours the clip went viral worldwide.What ought to have been a heartwarming post-match second immediately turned a PR catastrophe.Web detectives strikeIt didn’t take lengthy for social media sleuths to establish the thriller man because the CEO of Drogbruk, a paving stone and landscaping firm in Poland. Evaluate websites lit up with indignant one-star feedback, memes unfold like wildfire, and captions mocked him as all the pieces from “CEO of stealing goals” to “The paving stone Grinch.”One livid consumer wrote, “Nothing is extra disgusting than a toddler bully… stealing the cap of Kamil Majchrzak in the course of the US Open. Disgusting individuals.”Hero transfer from the participantSensing the backlash, Majchrzak stepped in to save lots of the day. He personally met Brok, gave him one other signed cap, and even added further memorabilia. The web applauded the gesture, praising the tennis participant for restoring what Szczerek had taken away.The apology that just about worked-until it didn’tSzczerek’s Instagram apology appeared like the beginning of harm management. However then got here screenshots from a Polish on-line discussion board, the place he had reportedly defended himself with a really completely different tone earlier saying, “Sure, I took it. Life is first-come, first-served. It’s only a hat. In case you have been sooner, you’d have it.”That contradictory assertion reignited the anger, with critics calling his apology hole.Fallout continuesSince then, Szczerek has deactivated his social media, however the web hasn’t let go. Memes now present him grabbing all the pieces from Wimbledon trophies to Tremendous Bowl rings. His firm, in the meantime, stays underneath scrutiny because the saga drags on.