Kellie Harrington releases statement following controversial Off the Ball interview

Kellie Harrington has released a statement maintaining that she is "all about community, inclusivity and diversity."

The statement comes on the back of the raft of criticism that has come her way since an interview she took part in on Monday, March 27th. In the interview, which was broadcast on Off The Ball, Harrington refused to be drawn to a tweet, since deleted, which she posted last October. The tweet had anti-immigration connotations and while Harrington was reluctant to address her opinions on such matters in the interview - a stance that has led to a barrage of criticism - she has since moved to clear the air.

“Last month, I reposted a tweet of a video from a journalist [whom I did not know at the time] detailing the story of a young girl in France who was kidnapped and murdered.

"Moved by the horrific circumstances of this story, I reposted a video of this journalist together with a copy of a quote," the statement reads.

“My thoughts at that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.

https://twitter.com/Kelly64kg/status/1640475577156083722?s=20

“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 the tweet and I apologised to them.

“As a sporting role model, I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do 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 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 many comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear. As a sportswoman, I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusivity and diversity.”

Harrington's deleted tweet read as follows, as a quote tweet to a clip which featured Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek referencing how people were being sacrificed 'on the altar of mass migration.' “Very, very sad," tweeted Harrington. "A powerful message from Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Our own leaders need to take a listen to this. She believes this is the 12th girl in France this year who has been killed by an immigrant.. And that’s just France.” In response to the apology, Twitter users pointed to a recent example of non-inclusive rhetoric that the sports star had engaged with on social media. This article originally appeared on SportsJoe.ie. READ ON: Pundits-favourite Claire Byrne addresses those Late Late Show presenter rumours