Dawn Fraser apologises

Dawn

More: Fraser's racist rant l Fraser defends racist comments

The former Olympian copped a massive backlash following a TV interview in which she said Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic should “go back to where their parents came from.”

Fraser’s rant came after Kyrgios was accused of tanking during the second set of his fourth round Wimbledon loss to Richard Gasquet overnight.

Fraser said neither Kyrgios or Tomic were good role models and that “if they don’t like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from.

“We don’t need them here in this country if they act like that.”

Fraser defended her statements when contacted by Fairfax Media later in the day, saying she was misinterpreted.

“I’m not a racist person, if you take it that way then I'm sorry that you take it that way, but I'm not racist at all.

"I said, 'If they don't want to be Australians then maybe they should go back to the country where their parents come from'. That's not being racist.”

By mid-afternoon though, someone had obviously talked some sense into Fraser and she issued this apology.

“I want to unreservedly apologise for any comments that I made this morning which may have caused offense to my fellow Australians including Nick and his family.

“The live to air clip was part of a larger un-broadcasted interview however this does not condone what was said.

"Australians have a rich sporting heritage made up of individuals from a variety of different countries of origin.

"My intended message, which was not delivered as articulately as it could have been, was on a purely sporting level rather than meant as an attack on Nick’s ethnicity.

“Nick’s representing Australia and I want to see him representing Australian tennis in the best possible light. Representing your country is the highest accolade for any athlete and being selected for Australia is both a privilege and an honour.

“Not only do you represent yourself, you team, your fans and your family, but you are representing the heritage of the competition and acting as a role model for young Australians.”

 

 

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