San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker apologized on Monday after a three-year-old photo surfaced of him making the same anti-Semitic gesture that has landed former France striker Nicolas Anelka in trouble.

Known in France as a “quenelle,” the gesture is said to be a reverse Nazi salute and has been made famous by French comedian Dieudonne, who started using it in 2005.

“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,” Frenchman Parker said in a statement released by National Basketball Association’s Spurs.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“When l was photographed making that gesture three years ago, I thought it was part of a comedy act and did not know that it could be in any way offensive or harmful.

“Since I have been made aware of the seriousness of this gesture, I will certainly never repeat the gesture and sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding or harm relating to my actions.”

The photo of Parker, a French national team member and three-time NBA champion, shows him making the hand gesture with Dieudonne.

Anelka made the controversial gesture after scoring a goal for his English Premier League soccer team West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. He is facing an FA investigation

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount