When the picture was shot ten years ago, Patrick Delaney said he thought he was demonstrating “the similarity” between the gesture and one made by some supporters of a soccer team in Western Sydney.
In an email to workers that the news saw, he stated, “The fact that I demonstrated this offensive salute was wrong, regardless of the context.”
Mr. Delaney’s activities were denounced by the Jewish Council of Australia as “deeply concerning.”.
The executive officer of the council, Sarah Schwartz, stated in a statement on Monday that it is “equally [concerning] that he operates in a media industry where he felt this was somehow okay.
“It shouldn’t need to be said that the salute is an offensive and violent act not only for Jews, but also for other racialised groups.”
A scenario where “a photo capturing me in this pose could ever be possible” was what Mr. Delaney claimed to have been “searching [his] mind” for in his internal memo.
Then, while he was visiting the set of a Fox Sports television program while serving as the channel’s CEO, he said that he thought he was mimicking a menacing gesture made by a group of Western Sydney Wanderers fans during the 2014–15 season.
