West Point Clears Any Reports Suggesting Hate Speech From Cadets Using ‘Ok’ Hand Gestures During Army Vs. Navy Football Game

After multiple cadets were spotted using the hand gesture multiple times during the game, military officials launched an investigation.

West Point has since spoken out about the incident that took place during the Dec. 14 game broadcast by #ESPN and said it does not believe the 3 cadets in question were trying to promote white supremacy after flashing the “okay” hand gesture. West Point declares the whole incident as a “misplaced joke.”

The hand symbol at hand is said to have been co-opted by white supremacy organization according to the Anti-Defamation League and groups alike, TMZ reports.

Because of the negative history behind the gesture, many were shocked after seeing the cadets flash the hand sign on air as if they were proud to be doing so.

After launching an investigation, West Point has now released its findings where they insist the cadets had no ill intent nor were they promoting a racist agenda.

“The evidence strongly supports a finding that [the cadets] made ‘OK’ hand gestures during the ESPN broadcast of GameDay because they were playing the ‘circle game’ or ‘gotcha game,’” West Points report insists.

“There is no evidence that [ the cadets] hold any racist of white supremacist views or attempted to communicate such messages by using the ‘OK’ hand gesture on national television.”

The report also describes the “circle game” as an “internationally recognized game in which people attempt to trick someone else into looking at an okay-like hand gesture below the waist.”

The cadets even claim they were trying to “garner attention from a national audience as well as surrounding cadets.”

The report continued explaining the innocence of the cadets by stating, “All three cadets also deny any intention of their okay gesture having a meaning associated with white supremacy ideology or any other movement/ ideology that is contrary to the army values.”

Investigators acknowledge that from this point forward, the military must make a bigger effort to “keep training current in order to address changes in the use of hate group symbology.”