A probe into hand gestures flashed by West Point cadets and Naval Academy midshipmen at last weekend's televised Army-Navy college football game in Philidelphia were not racist, separate military investigations conducted by the military academies found.
The Naval Academy found that two of its midshipmen were participating in a “sophomoric game" and had no racist intent behind the hand signs. During the probe, investigators reviewed TV footage, conducted more than two dozen interviews and background checks by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI.
It was determined that the freshman Annapolis midshipmen were participating in a "circle game" with their rival West Point cadets, in which someone flashes an upside-down OK sign below the waist and punches anyone who looks at it.
The circle game has been around for decades and was featured on the early 2000s sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle." It is popular among teenagers today, the West Point statement said.
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Army, Navy investigators find hand gestures made during football broadcast weren't racist