Comedienne Kathy Griffin is receiving backlash Tuesday after posting a photo of the Covington Catholic basketball team alleging that they were displaying a white supremacy sign despite the gesture having a specific meaning in basketball.
Covington Catholic made national headlines over the weekend when a video went viral of MAGA hat-wearing students being confronted by a Native American man. While many assigned blame to the students, it later became clear, when more video surfaced, that they did not initiate the debacle.
The tweet, which was deleted shortly after it was posted, showed the players on the team’s bench celebrating and using their hands to make the “OK” sign. The hand signal in basketball is often used after a player hits a 3-point shot. (RELATED: Nathan Phillips Suggests Expelling Covington Catholic Kids)
It had the caption, “Covington’s finest throwing up the new nazi sign.”
Hi @kathygriffin, I see you deleted this tweet comparing high school basketball players at Covington to nazis because they held up three fingers after a three pointer.
I think you should just delete your entire account instead. pic.twitter.com/H5PKB4mVc4
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) January 22, 2019
Many people took the opportunity to post photos of NBA stars like Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry and Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James making the same gesture to prove their point. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has also made that hand sign before a game, as Siraj Hashmi pointed out on Twitter.
bipartisan dunking on kathy griffin, a tradition unlike any other pic.twitter.com/oqJncUYkbG
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) January 22, 2019
The comedian previously called for the students’ information to be released publicly.
“I want NAMES,” Griffin tweeted Sunday morning. “Shame them. If you think these fuckers wouldn’t dox you in a heartbeat, think again.”
She was not suspended from Twitter despite many calling for her to be for violating the site’s community rules.
