The Army and Navy's investigation is finally over: The academy students accused of flashing 'white power' signs were just playing the stupid 'circle game'
- The US Navy and Army concluded that students who flashed a controversial hand signal during the annual Army-Navy football game on Saturday were merely playing the "circle game" and had made the hand gesture without any racial animus.
- Both service academies recommended additional training in light of the controversy, and concluded that the game was common among teens.
- The midshipmen "were playing the circle game without any racist or white supremacist intent," the Navy said in its investigation report.
- One of the midshipmen texted their roommate with "Got em," in an apparent reference to seeing the gesture on TV.
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The US Navy and Army concluded that students who flashed a controversial hand signal during the annual Army-Navy football game on Saturday were merely playing an "immature" game and had made the hand gesture without any racial animus.
The students were seen making the gestures in uniform during a live broadcast of the service's 120th annual football game on national TV. Both the Naval Academy and West Point have launched internal investigations after several students were seen making the "OK" sign with their fingers.
The use of the gesture, which carries multiple meanings beyond a way of communicating "OK," was under scrutiny immediately after the broadcast, with some people accusing the service members of making a gesture associated with white supremacists.
The investigations from the two military academies spanned interviews and text messages from numerous cadets who were in the vicinity of the hand gestures; their peers; and their chain of command. In its reports, the Army and Navy redacted the names of the students who made the hand gesture.
The midshipmen "were playing the circle game without any racist or white supremacist intent," the Navy said in its investigation report. One of the midshipmen texted their roommate with "Got em," in an apparent reference to seeing the gesture on TV.
"We are confident the hand gestures used were not intended to be racist in any way," the Navy's report said. "However, we are disappointed by the immature behavior of the two Fourth Class Midshipmen, and their actions will be appropriately addressed. The Naval Academy is fully committed to preparing young men and women to become professional officers of competence, character, and compassion in the US Navy and Marine Corps; in this case, we recognize there is more work to be done."
Both service academies recommended additional training in light of the controversy, and concluded that the prank is common: the Army described it as "an internationally recognized game," while the Navy said it "is commonly played at the Naval Academy and in other military and civilian settings."
The annual football game is typically a raucous affair with hundreds of cadets being thrown into the national spotlight. The investigation also revealed that one of the West Point cadets implicated in the investigation was the same person who "dropped a Coca-Cola can after chugging and crushing it ... during the live broadcast."