Why is the ‘OK’ gesture considered racist?

The 'OK' hand gesture is considered by some a symbol for white supremacy. (Kevin Malik/Pexels)

An Australian video analyst reviewing a FIFA World Cup match is making headlines after he made a gesture associated with white supremacy while on camera.

Shaun Evans made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his leg, before Germany played Curaçao on Sunday in Houston, though he was working in Dallas’ World Cup broadcast centre.

The Fare network, which partners with FIFA and European soccer body UEFA to monitor racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games, called for Evans to be removed.

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” Fare said in a statement, describing the gesture as “Neo-Nazi.”

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.”

Evans said Monday that his hand gesture was caused by an involuntary twitch, while a FIFA committee determined he hadn’t breached the sport’s disciplinary code.

But how did a seemingly innocent hand symbol, originally intended to express consent or well-being, get associated with white supremacy?

From schoolyard game to racist meme

The gesture to signal “OK” is commonly associated with making a circle with the pointer finger and thumb while the other three fingers are extended.

The gesture has been used for decades in a children’s game known as “circle game” or “gotcha,” where someone flashes the symbol upside-down, below their waist. Anyone who looks at it is punched in the shoulder.

The game was popularized on the early-2000s TV sitcom “Malcom in the Middle.”

In 2017, members of the website 4chan started a hoax campaign claiming the hand gesture was meant to resemble the letters “WP” or “white power,” according to Jewish civil right’s group Anti-Defamation League (ADF).

By 2019, the ADF categorized it as a hate symbol.

“Even though its usage has expanded and evolved, it still seems primarily intended to trigger or troll people on the left and cause them to react, although some white supremacists have also used it — generally jokingly — among themselves,” it stated on their website.

However, the ADF noted that “particular caution must be used” when evaluating the symbol, as context is key.

“Because of the traditional meaning of the ‘OK’ hand gesture, as well as other usages unrelated to white supremacy, particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture,” the group said.

The gesture has caused some notable controversy over the years. Brenton Tarrant, the man found guilty of killing 51 people at a New Zealand mosque in March 2019, flashed the symbol during a courtroom appearance.

In December 2019, the U.S. Naval Academy appointed an officer to conduct an internal investigation after the hand gestures was flashed by students during a broadcast before a Army-Navy football game.

With files from The Associated Press