NBA star Tony Parker apologized Monday for a newly surfaced photograph that shows him making the ‘’quenelle’’, the same gesture with anti-Semitic connotations that French soccer star Nicolas Anelka displayed while celebrating a goal this weekend in the English Premier League, creating an uproar in their home country.
The photograph shows Parker and French controversial comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala making the gesture which is described as an inverted Nazi salute.
Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center had called on Parker to apologize for his use of the gesture.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Center, which is a said Sunday that Parker should “apologize for his use of the quenelle ‘Nazi’ salute.”
“As a leading sports figure on both sides of the Atlantic, Parker has a special moral obligation to disassociate himself from a gesture that the government of France has identified as anti-Semitic,” Cooper said.
Parker said in a statement released through the San Antonio Spurs that the photograph was taken three years ago. He said that he would never repeat the gesture again.
Parker, who was born in Belgium but raised in France, said he didn't know at the time that "it could be in any way offensive or harmful." He said he thought it was part of a comedy act and said he apologized for any misunderstanding or harm.
"While this gesture has been part of French culture for many years, it was not until recently that I learned of the very negative concerns associated with it," Parker said.
"Hopefully this incident will serve to educate others that we need to be more aware that things that may seem innocuous can actually have a history of hate and hurt," he added.
The photo surfaced on social media after French striker Nicolas Anelka made the same gesture celebrating a goal in an English Premier League game Saturday, causing an outcry in France.
Anelka's club, West Bromich Albion, issued a statement Monday saying that Anelka has agreed not to perform the same gesture again. The English Football Association has also begun an investigation and could punish Anelka with a five-match ban.
Anelka has defended his actions, saying he was merely expressing his support for French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, who performs the gesture on stage. Dieudonne claims the salute, which involves pointing one straightened arm downward while touching that arm's shoulder with the opposite hand, is anti-establishment and not anti-Semitic.