Officials at the Army and Navy academies are investigating whether hand signs flashed by students standing behind a reporter during a TV interview were intended to convey a message of white supremacy.
The incident involved two U.S. Military Academy cadets and a Naval Academy midshipman who were behind ESPN’s Rece Davis as he reported on the sideline before the annual rivalry game Saturday in Philadelphia.
“U. S. Naval Academy officials have appointed a preliminary inquiry officer to conduct an internal investigation into the hand gestures made during the ESPN ‘College GameDay’ broadcast prior to [Saturday’s] Army-Navy game,” Cmdr. Alana Garas, a spokesperson for the Naval Academy, said in a statement to The Washington Post. “Based on findings of the investigation, those involved will be held appropriately accountable. It would be inappropriate to speculate any further while we are conducting this investigation.”