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West Point: Army-Navy attendees were playing a game, not making white power sign

Army prepares to snap the ball against Navy during the Army-Navy game in Dec. 2018. Photo: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

An internal investigation has determined that two West Point cadets and a Naval Academy midshipman who displayed hand gestures in the stands on ESPN's pre-game coverage of the Army-Navy football game on Dec. 14 were playing a known game and did not have racist intentions, West Point Public Affairs announced on Friday.

Details: The “OK” hand gesture is the same as a symbol used by white supremacists to "signal their presence to the like-minded, as well as to identify potentially sympathetic recruits among young trolling artists flashing it," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The sign took on the new meaning around 2017 when it was co-opted by online trolls and later white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

What they're saying: West Point says the students were playing the popular "circle game," in which someone makes a circle with their hand and holds it below their waist in an attempt to get another person to look at it.

  • "We are disappointed by the immature behavior of the cadets,” said Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams of West Point.
  • West Point said the cadets will "receive appropriate administrative and/or disciplinary actions."

Go deeper: Trump touts at Army-Navy game pro sports policy for military athletes

Go deeper

Stef W. Kight, Kadia Goba
58 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Schumer's m(aj)ority checklist

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Capitalizing on the Georgia runoffs, achieving a 50-50 Senate and launching an impeachment trial are weighty to-dos for getting Joe Biden's administration up and running on Day One.

What to watch: A blend of ceremonies, hearings and legal timelines will come into play on Tuesday and Wednesday so Chuck Schumer can actually claim the Senate majority and propel the new president's agenda.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Kadia Goba
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The dark new reality in Congress

National Guard troops keep watch at security fencing. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

This is how bad things are for elected officials and others working in a post-insurrection Congress:

  • Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said she had a panic attack while grocery shopping back home.
  • Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said police may also have to be at his constituent meetings.
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told a podcaster he brought a gun to his office on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 because he anticipated trouble with the proceedings that day.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 3: Descent into madness ... Trump: "Sometimes you need a little crazy"

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios series takes you inside the collapse of a president.

Episode 3: The conspiracy goes too far. Trump's outside lawyers plot to seize voting machines and spin theories about communists, spies and computer software.

President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office one day in late November when a call came in from lawyer Sidney Powell. "Ugh, Sidney," he told the staff in the room before he picked up. "She's getting a little crazy, isn't she? She's really gotta tone it down. No one believes this stuff. It's just too much."

Go deeper (6 min. read)Arrow

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