Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin says bench coach did not intend apparent Nazi salute

Ryan Christenson, the embattled A’s bench coach, got the full endorsement of his boss Friday.

“Ryan Christenson is fully supported by everybody in our clubhouse,” manager Bob Melvin said. “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.”

Christenson, standing in the handshake line outside the A’s dugout after Thursday’s victory, held his right arm aloft in what appeared to be a Nazi salute. Christenson put his arm down after pitcher Liam Hendricks said something to him, but then he turned and raised the arm again for a moment.

With handshakes and high-five ruled out during the pandemic, the A’s have created other ways to celebrate. The current way, instituted by Hendriks, begins with a karate chop.

That might not be the way any longer.

“I think Liam needs to think about changing that handshake,” outfielder Mark Canha said Friday.

About Christenson, Canha said: “We need to give him a pass. If you just zoom out of that image and watch the previous 20 handshakes, everybody’s getting ready to do a karate chop and shake with Liam.”

A video clip captured from the NBC Sports Bay Area telecast hit social media almost immediately. Some were demanding Christenson be dismissed.

Christenson, 46, who has been with the A’s as a player and a coach for 15 years, issued a statement Thursday night, apologizing for a gesture he said he did not intend.

Calls for his dismissal continued. By Friday morning “Nazi” was trending on Twitter in California.

Hello @Athletics, you will be firing your Bench Coach Ryan Christenson for his Nazi salutes, correct? If not, you might as well change your logo to a Swastika. Disgusting.pic.twitter.com/UC9q2GlhLV

— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) August 7, 2020

ESPN’s Pablo Torre explained the anger on the Dan Le Batard Show podcast.

“I think there is incompetence that can read as innocence, I suppose. And that’s the best benediction I could give this dude. But it’s telling (that) one of the pitchers on this team, Liam Hendriks, violates baseball protocol and grabs his forearm to bend the arm to prevent it from being the gesture we all know.

“Your intent when it comes to this stuff doesn’t matter. We make that mistake all the time with racism and bigotry. It’s not what you intend, it’s how the people have the right to feel in response to seeing that given certain historical facts and conditions.”

Canha hopes people will re-evaluate the situation with reason, including Christenson’s second arm raise.

“I think we have to be very careful when we are interpreting people’s intentions,” he said. “It looks to me like he had realized what he had done and kind of took a comedic approach to it.”

Canha says the A’s aren’t on the defensive.

“I don’t think we need to change people’s minds,” he said. “I think people make up their minds about this sort of thing. And where they stand on it.

“I’ll say this, I think it’s a positive thing that people are talking about this. That our generation is at a place where we’re talking about something like this and having discussions. It’s a sign of progress.”