Officials at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis are investigating allegations that students at both institutions used a “white power” hand signal Saturday during pregame ceremonies at the 120th annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia.
After students were seen in the pregame telecast using an “OK” hand gesture that has previously been ruled a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League, school officials are trying to determine whether the hand sign was made as part of an innocent children’s “circle game” or a white supremacy signal.
The OK hand symbol is said to form the letters “WP” and has been used by some far-right groups as a symbol for “white power,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Current U.S. Department of Education data states that African Americans make up 12 percent of West Point’s students and 7 percent of the student population at the Naval Academy.
