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A video showing John Wall making gang signs with his hands and partying sans mask with friends went viral over the weekend, prompting the Wizards point guard to issue an apology on Twitter.
First and foremost I want to apologize to my family, my teammates and all of those that have always supported me. I made a mistake, something I regret. I will continue to work hard to be better on the court and more importantly off the court.
— John Wall (@JohnWall) September 13, 2020
This isn’t the first time with Wall, now 30 years old, and gang signs. When the latest video began gaining attention, Hoops Central tweeted a clip of Wall making similar hand signals after a big pass to teammate Bradley Beal.
In honor of the gang sign John Wall appearance, let's bring back this gem. pic.twitter.com/qEjATSQlAa
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 13, 2020
The video points to a few items of questionable judgement.
- Attending a social gathering during a pandemic without taking precautions such as wearing masks or following social distancing guidelines.
- Flashing apparent gang signs.
- Allowing any of these activities to be recorded.
It was a good move by Wall to apologize and pledge to continue working on being better on and off the court. Everyone is guilty of employing poor judgement at times, and none of us would want certain private moments to be made public.
That’s not to make excuses for Wall. What’s important for him is what’s important for any of us who screw up: that he takes responsibility for his actions (which he seems to have done), learns from them, and does better in the future.