US Open Hat-Snatching Villain Responds—but Is It Too Little Too Late?

It was a story that went viral over the holiday weekend—a star tennis player was handing his hat to a young fan in the audience at the U.S. Open when suddenly some ham-handed jerk snatched the cap, stuffed it into his wife’s purse, and completely ignored the poor, shocked boy.

The man was (justifiably) vilified on the internet, and it didn’t take sleuths long to find out the miscreant’s identity. He is Polish millionaire businessman Piotr Szczerek, and boy, did he look like the Ultimate Jerk in the now-infamous video.

TERRIBLE! Pro tennis player attempts to give a hat to a child at the US Open. An adult steps in and vultures it. Who does this?

Should there be any punishment? pic.twitter.com/Fgzf591jLa
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) August 29, 2025

Things took a turn for the better when the tennis player—Polish star Kamil Majchrzak—realized what had happened, was able to arrange a meeting with the boy, and gave him a new hat.

On Sunday, the internet raged with supposed statements by Szczerek, which appeared to double down on his appalling behavior and also threatened to sue somebody—anybody. However, that appears to be a hoax, and the hat-snatcher has denied that those words are his.

Similarly, the tech CEO who was caught canoodling someone who was not his wife on the Coldplay concert kiss cam in July also “issued” a viral statement threatening to sue people—but it too was a fake, showing how difficult it can be to separate truth from reality in today’s world.

In any case, the hat-snatching CEO has now issued a real apology on Instagram, according to the NY Post. You be the judge if it does the job:

“I would like to unequivocally apologize to the boy who was harmed, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself,” Szczerek wrote on Instagram. “I made a serious mistake.
“In the emotions, in the crowd’s joy after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was handing the cap in my direction — for my sons, who had earlier asked for autographs,” he added.
“It is a painful but necessary lesson in humility for me.”

You know what? Not a bad start. He had more, and said he had contacted the fan’s family:

Szczerek, who has been at the center of outrage after the video went viral last week, said he has apologized to the boy and his family for his actions.
He also claimed that neither he nor his family have made any statements regarding the incident prior to Monday — debunking viral posts that have been made in recent days pretending to be him and mocking the situation.

He vowed to try to do better:

“For years, together with my wife, I have been involved in helping children and young athletes, but this situation showed me that one moment of carelessness can undo years of work and support,” the Polish millionaire wrote.
“Therefore, I will engage even more actively in initiatives supporting children and youth, as well as in actions against violence and hate,” he added. “I believe that only through deeds can I rebuild the lost trust.
“Once again, I apologize to everyone I have let down.”

His actions were shameful, and it’s not a surprise that he’s feeling the heat—deservedly so. That being said, this apology is far better than the usual ones we routinely see from celebrities and corporations, where they issue “we’re not actually that sorry” apologies. At least he had the cojones to say, “I apologize to everyone I have let down.”

It certainly doesn’t wipe away his boorish behavior, but perhaps it will be a lesson to him and others like him that being a complete jerk has consequences.

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