\u201cThe imagery is a recognizable symbol of white supremacy, organized hate and violence,\u201d members of the Howard club tennis team wrote in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Jancewicz said he was \u201chorrified\u201d that the club tennis team used his image in this way and omitted all of the context he\u2019d originally published along with it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how anybody could have seen that and thought it was a good idea to send to all of the clubs,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m shocked that it\u2019s being used as a potential hate symbol.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/XKNUJRCLKNEC5EHWJBCQW4PRBU.jpg\")
The bottom image was created by graphic illustrator Benjamin Jancewicz in 2017 for a blog post examining the Confederate symbols in the Maryland state flag, which is seen at top. (Benjamin Jancewicz)<\/p>\n
Jancewicz, who lived in Baltimore and was a Maryland resident for two decades, said he created the illustration in 2017 as a commentary on the history of the Maryland state flag. <\/p>\n
The blog post<\/a> where he published it explained that the black and gold portion of the flag was used by the Union during the Civil War, while the Confederate army and its sympathizers in Maryland used the white and red Crossland coat of arms. After the war ended, the state put the two sides together to try to make peace and sow unity.<\/p>\n Jancewicz made the altered image of the state flag to show the connection to the confederacy, he said. <\/p>\n At the time, he recalled, the article \u201cwent pretty viral.\u201d After his post was published, a conservative group in the state created a petition to save the Maryland flag. Jancewicz said he\u2019d never suggested getting rid of it. <\/p>\n