Polish CEO caught on camera taking cap that tennis player meant to give boy, sparks widespread backlash

Yet another CEO has come under the limelight after his unsavoury actions were caught on camera at a sports game.

Polish CEO Piotr Szczerek, who runs a paving company, was recently filmed on live broadcast taking a hat away from a child at the U.S. Tennis Open on Aug 28.

Snatched

In the video clip, Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak was seen signing autographs for fans after winning his match.

He then offers his cap to a young boy, but the item was immediately intercepted by Szczerek.

Szczerek then places the cap in the bag of the woman next to him, presumably his wife.

The incident has since gone hugely viral, with online users condemning Szczerek's actions.

A fake statement from Szczerek was subsequently circulated online, which worsened his reputation.

Polish CEO Piotr Szczerek is a retarded scumbag loser who deserves savage mockery for his attitudes about snatching the hat away from a child.

Sue me, you shitty human. pic.twitter.com/p9KPEcOMAY

— 𝙲𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚘𝚔𝚞𝚗 (@cornokun) August 31, 2025

Szczerek's firm has also been flooded with negative reviews online.

Apology

On Sep. 1, Szczerek posted an actual statement on his social media accounts, stating that he "would like to unequivocally apologise to the young boy, his family, all the fans, and the player himself".

Szczerek shared that he had mistakenly believed the player was handing him the hat instead.

"I take full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions. It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan. I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory, and I believed Majchrzak was handing a hat to me to give to my sons, who had previously asked for autographs."

He added that he has since sent the hat back to the boy and extended his apologies to the boy's family.

"I hope, at least to a small extent, I was able to repair the harm I caused," he wrote.

He also clarified that, thus far, neither he nor his family have commented on the situation publicly, confirming that the previous statement circulated online was false.

Following the cap-snatching incident, Majchrzak took to social media in hopes of identifying the young boy.

On Aug. 30, he shared on Instagram that he was able to meet up with the kid and even gifted him a bag of swag, as well as another cap.

Top photo from mrmishraadv/X and DROGBRUK kostka brukowa/Facebook