Golfer Steve Elkington has apologized for his racially charged tweets about the English city of Southport, according to USA TODAY Sports.
The first tweet came Friday:
“Things about Southport… fat tattooed guy, fat tattooed girl, trash, Pakistani robber guy, [expletive] food.”
The second came Saturday and included a rather offensive term for Pakistanis:
“Couple caddies got rolled by some Pakkis, bad night for them.”
Both tweets have been deleted.
The 50-year old Elkington is currently competing in the 2013 Senior British Open. He has been given a police escort and issued a statement before the third round Saturday.
“In my tweet I was referring to an unfortunate incident involving a caddie earlier in the week. Being Australian, I was unaware that my use of language in relation to the Pakistani people would cause offense, but having been made aware I now deeply regret the use of that terminology.
Southport is a beautiful place and I have enjoyed playing at Royal Birkdale, as my positive content on Twitter has shown. My comments were born out of frustration over what had happened to a colleague…. I am prepared to adhere to any disciplinary action that the Championship sees fit.”
Elkington could face sanctions from golf’s governing bodies for his comments.
Through a statement with the European Senior Tour and Champions Tour the R&A said:
"We have spoken to Steve Elkington about his inappropriate and regrettable comments on Twitter, and the matter will be reviewed before the Championship considers taking any disciplinary action against the player.”
