Klein banned for racist slur

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:40

Klein was fined by Tennis Australia for the incident, which occurred in the qualifying rounds of the AEGON International, while he was suspended from the Australian Institute of Sport and had his funding stopped. The ATP took an even dimmer view of his behaviour, sidelining him for six months.

“Under the ATP Code of Conduct, Klein was found to have committed the Player Major Offence, Aggravated Behaviour. The incident was deemed to have been ‘behaviour that is flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament or is singularly egregious’,” an ATP statement said.

Klein, 19, was quick to apologise on Friday, calling his outburst an “error in judgment”.

“I sincerely regret my error in judgment in using the language I did and I am deeply sorry for the offence caused,” he said.

“I am accepting of the ATP’s ruling and am now looking to put the whole incident behind me.

“I will undergo a racial sensitivity course and am determined to learn from this mistake.

“I plan to do everything I can to grow as a person and later as a tennis player by improving myself both off and on the court over the next four months.

“My aim is now to return to tournament play at the end of 2009 and focus on a strong Australian summer on the court.”

His suspension will be reduced by two months upon completion of the racial sensitivity training course.

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