Kellie Harrington has released a statement following her interview with Off The Ball yesterday.
In her statement, the Olympic gold medallist said she did not want to engage in politically sensitive matters, and that as a sportswoman she is all about community, inclusion and diversity.
In the interview with Off The Ball, Harrington refused to answer a question on a controversial anti-immigration tweet that she had shared on Twitter back in October.
Kellie Harrington discussed her deleted tweet on immigration on #OTBAM. pic.twitter.com/cerleODJNa
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) March 27, 2023
Harrington's statement in full reads:
"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people I immediately deleted the tweet. I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them.
"As a sporting role model, I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do and say. I reacted with my emotions and without the facts. How this came across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts.
"I did an interview today during which I was caught off guard. I was not prepared for a question unrelated to sport and my response to the question asked was not definitive.
"I do not want to engage in politically sensitive matters.
"What I want to make clear is, throughout my life both in boxing & outside boxing, I have been lucky enough to have had many multicultural influences and this continues to shape me to this day. This is something that shapes me as the person I am today and something I am very grateful for. The people closest to me will attest to this.
"Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear. As a sportswomen I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."
A statement following my interview earlier with OTB pic.twitter.com/FGuO3w7Wwe
— Kellie Harrington (@Kelly64kg) March 27, 2023
