New Prague has found itself at the center of yet another accusation of racism following Wednesday night's high school state hockey tournament.
The incident happened Wednesday night as New Prague played Hermanton in the boys' A quarterfinals. Students in the New Prague student section were captured on camera using the "okay" hand symbol, which the Anti-Defamation League has listed as a symbol of hate due to its connection to white supremacy.
According to ADL, the "okay" hand gesture gained a new and different significance in 2017 when members of the website 4chan falsely promoted the gesture as a hate symbol, claiming it represented the letters "wp," for "white power." ADL says the "okay" gesture hoax was successful and became a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals, who would often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the “okay” gesture.
The symbol, according to ADL, was also used when Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant flashed the symbol during a March 2019 courtroom appearance soon after his arrest for murdering 50 people in a shooting spree at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
On Thursday, the Minnesota State High School League released a statement condemning the New Prague students' actions.
New Prague Superintendent Tim Dittberner addressed the incident and said the students who used it were two upper elementary students, and that they were making the “OK” symbol. Dittberner acknowledged that the symbol can be used to signify white supremacy, but added the students were not aware of what the symbol meant.
Dittberner wrote, "Tonight at the boys state hockey tournament two New Prague upper elementary students made the “ok” hand gesture. In addition to being the “ok” hand gesture, it can be used to signify white supremacy. School administration addressed the situation immediately after they were made aware of the situation. When questioned, the students did not understand what the signal meant. They were mimicking something they saw at an earlier hockey game on the big screen. We have no reason to believe they knew it could signify white supremacy. While we know this is very upsetting to many, please be assured we feel confident that the students were not intending to send a message of white supremacy when they made the gesture."
New Prague has come under fire for a number of racist incidents during athletic events, including allegations of student-athletes and fans making monkey taunts at a girl's basketball game against Robbinsdale Cooper and remarks made towards members of the St. Louis Park boys high school hockey team.
Both St. Louis Park and Robbinsdale Cooper have stated they will no longer play New Prague.