Missing out on from the apologies is the recognition that the salute, whether it was deliberate or not, is an anti-semitic gesture that is extremely offensive to lots of people, but specifically those of Jewish heritage and faith.
Long time As beat author Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronical reported that Christenson was attempting to do his usual karate slice gesture.
There are those who think there must be harsher professional consequences for Christenson, but punitive steps arent constantly what is needed or what works. What would truly make a distinction, to the Jewish neighborhood and numerous more, is Christenson devoting to learning from his error.
Whether Christensons salute is an item of anti-semitism, bad judgement or simply unconscionable historical lack of knowledge, the As and Christenson need to devote to doing more to atone for it. Words are not as impactful as actions, therefore far neither have committed to in fact doing anything. At the least, Christenson can find out why the gesture was so abhorrent or donate his game check to companies that combat anti-semitism.
” As bench coach Ryan Christenson welcomed players with a gesture that appeared like a Nazi salute. We do not excuse this gesture or support or the racist belief behind it. This is incredibly offending, especially in these times when we as a Club and so lots of others are working to expose and resolve racial injustices in our nation. We are deeply sorry that this taken place on our playing field.”
In a commonly distributed video on Twitter, Christenson can be seen throwing a crisp arm straight into the air, palm down and fingers pointed forward, that looks quite like a Nazi salute.
The As followed up Christensons words with contrition as well, but again it fizzles.
As players stroll off the field to touch congratulatory elbows, Oakland As closer Liam Hendriks pushes Christensons arm back down, remedying his gesture. A couple of seconds later, Christenson, reverses, appears to point to Henriks and does the salute again.
” I slipped up and will not deny it. Today in the dugout I welcomed players with a gesture that stank. In the world today of Covid, I adapted our elbow bump, which we do after wins, to produce some distance with the players. My gesture accidentally resulted in a racist and awful salute that I do not believe in. What I did was undesirable and I deeply apologize.”
Again, it doesnt matter what Christensons objectives were. He made a mistake– an extremely, really bad one– and the response hasnt been proportional. There are those who think there need to be harsher expert repercussions for Christenson, however punitive measures arent constantly what is necessary or what works. What would truly make a difference, to the Jewish community and many more, is Christenson dedicating to discovering from his mistake. Far, that hasnt occurred.
After Thursdays 6-4 win over the Rangers, the Oakland As bench coach Ryan Christenson decided to amend the groups COVID-related victory elbow bump by throwing what appeared like a Nazi salute.
” As bench coach Ryan Christenson welcomed players with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute. Whether Christensons salute is an item of anti-semitism, bad judgement or simply unconscionable historical lack of knowledge, the As and Christenson require to devote to doing more to atone for it. At the least, Christenson can find out why the gesture was so abhorrent or contribute his game check to companies that fight anti-semitism.
I just blacked out, my mind wasnt there and I spaced out. Im sure it looks terrible.
Theres a uncomfortable and unsafe strain of casual anti-semitism that appears to be going through our nation and one that many dont desire to acknowledge or appropriately deal with. Weve seen it in sports with the recent words of DeSean Jackson, and from public figures like Ice Cube. Even believed both parties have actually addressed and excused their words, the ideology that lead to those declarations is an unpleasant tip of the deep seated prejudices that still exist against Jewish individuals.
A couple of hours after the incident, both the As and Christenson provided apologies. Christenson acknowledged what the gesture looked like, and said the Nazi salute wasnt intentional.
