"If they don’t like it, go back to where their parents came from": When Nick Kyrgios & Bernard Tomic became racism victims by Aussie swimming legend
Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser made comments in 2015 that were widely criticized as racist towards Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. She suggested that the duo should "go back to where their parents came from."
Fraser’s comments came after Kyrgios’ contentious first-round defeat at Wimbledon to Richard Gasquet. The crowd booed him when he appeared to put minimal effort into returning serve in the second set after a disagreement with the chair umpire. Although he made a strong comeback in the third set, he ultimately lost 7-5, 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(6).
Reflecting on the former Wimbledon finalist's behavior and Tomic’s dispute with Tennis Australia—which led to his exclusion from the national Davis Cup team—Fraser told Channel Nine that the two should reconsider leaving the country if they’re unwilling to uphold its values and represent it positively.
"They should be setting a better example for the younger generation of this country, a great country of ours. 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," the eight-time Olympic medalist said.
Nick Kyrgios, born in Australia, comes from a multicultural background with a Greek father and a Malaysian mother. Similarly, Bernard Tomic was born in Germany to a Croatian father and a Bosnian mother before his family moved to Australia when he was three.
Kyrgios didn't hold back in his response to Dawn Fraser's remarks, accusing her of being a "blatant racist."
"Throwing a racket, brat. Debating the rules, disrespectful. Frustrated when competing, spoilt. Showing emotion, arrogant. Blatant racist, Australian legend," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The 29-year-old's mother Norlaila also took to X and took a shot at Fraser:
"I have no comments on Dawn Fraser's nasty racist attack...but she is out of line."
Dawn Fraser apologizes to Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic for controversial remarks
Following backlash over her comments on Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, Dawn Fraser issued an apology, explaining that her remarks were taken from a longer interview, though only a short live clip was broadcast.
"I want to unreservedly apologise for any comments that I made this morning which may have caused [offence] to my fellow Australians including Nick and his family," she said.
However, Fraser stood her ground, insisting that her message was not an attack on Kyrgios' ethnicity but rather a call for him to represent Australia in the best possible way.
"However this does not condone what was said," she said. "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," she added.