TORONTO – We’ve all given someone the “bunny ears” in a photo at some point in our lives. That’s when you throw up two fingers behind someone else’s head, in the moment right before a picture is snapped.
Usually, the recipient is a friend, a co-worker, or your fun uncle Ned at Thanksgiving dinner.
As opposed to, say, the President of the United States of America.
President Barack Obama honoured the U.S. national college football champion Ohio State Buckeyes Monday, welcoming them to the White House as is custom for each year’s champion.
More than 200 guests and dignitaries packed the White House East Room for the ceremony, including former Ohio State players Archie Griffin and Cris Carter.
While posing for a team photo with the Commander-in-Chief, Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Bennett threw up the patented “bunny ears” right behind the President’s head.
Bennett took to Twitter shortly after the event to ask if anyone else had spotted his POTUS photobomb.
“Did the bunny ears show up on TV or was it too late?” Bennett wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
And while it’s clear the OSU defender is trying to roll back attention on what could be viewed as a serious disrespect of the Presidential office, his quick hand gesture has already made him a star on social media.
Bennett later took to Twitter to say the gesture was not meant to convey any ill-will.
And while the gesture might be interpreted as disrespectful of Obama’s high office, the entire event had a joking atmosphere.
Obama even jokingly talked about throwing his political weight behind the idea of a four-team playoff to replace the old system in which voters and computers selected two teams to play for the championship.
“I cannot claim full credit. But I will point out that I pushed for a playoff system in 2008,” Obama said. “This is a promise kept. You’re welcome, America.”
–With files from the Associated Press
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