Bench coach Ryan Christenson has the Athletics' full support in the wake of his incident. Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

A's players, staff support coach after anti-Semitic gesture

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 8/8/20

An Oakland Athletics bench coach is under fire for a gesture used during Thursday night's win over the Texas Rangers.

Ryan Christenson appeared to have made a gesture resembling the Nazi salute, and he said it was "unintentional" and apologized for doing it.

Christenson was seen on camera extending his right arm in the air as the team made their way to the dugout.

We take this time to introduce you to Oakland A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson ... who likely saw his last day on an MLB field

W ... T ... F?!?! (@1053TheFan @1053SS @RJChoppy) pic.twitter.com/RlNbeRgjeo
— T̷R̷O̷Y̷ ̷H̷U̷G̷H̷E̷S̷ (@TommySledge) August 7, 2020

A's closer Liam Hendricks corrected Christenson's gesture, and the bench coach says he was trying to adapt the elbow bump that teams now do in place of high-fives due to coronavirus concerns.

With the movement surrounding racial equality in today's society, Christenson's gesture was that much more distasteful.

While the A's apologized, manager Bob Melvin supported Christenson and said the bench coach didn't have any malicious intent, according to ESPN:

"Ryan Christenson is fully supported by everybody in our clubhouse and they know who he is. So do I. Obviously it didn't look great but that was not his intent at all. I know that for a fact. He's just not that guy. I'd say he's progressive, very progressive as a person. Everybody feels bad for him right now 'cause they know who he is."

Christenson, who hasn't faced any supplemental discipline, is having his case looking into by MLB.

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