Both the Army and Navy academies are looking into hand signs flashed by students that can be associated with “white power” and were televised during the Army-Navy football game on Saturday, according to school officials. Cadets at West Point and midshipmen at the Naval Academy in the stands both appeared to display the sign during the broadcast. The gesture was seen during an ESPN broadcast segment. School officials are trying to determine what the hand signals were meant to convey, they said.
Lt. Col. Chris Ophardt, a spokesperson for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York, said: “We’re looking into it. I don’t know what their intention is.” Similarly, Cmdr. Alana Garas, a spokesperson for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, said: “We are aware and will be looking into it.”
The hand sign is similar to the one often used to indicate “OK,” but the Anti-Defamation League says it has lately been used as an extremist meme, in part because of its ambiguity.
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