Dear Mr. Woo,
First of all, let me apologize again for my mistake during
Monday night's telecast. I have felt horrible all day long today
knowing that I offended many people. I assure you I was
unaware that my choice of words was inappropriate, and in no
way did I use it malic iously. As I mentioned earlier, I was using
the term the same way I would use 'Frenchman' or 'Englishman',
and I was totally unaware that the word I used is a derogatory
one dating back to the 19th century.
I am ashamed of what happened, especially since I take great
pride in being extremely open minded and tolerant. I have
spent a good part of my life living in foreign countries and I
have respect for all cultures, races and religions. My sister in law
is Chinese American, and my brother in law is a respected
Chinese history scholar at Cambridge University in England.
One of my best friends, in fact, is also Chinese American. I called
them all today to explain what happened.
Anyway, I have already planned to apologize to Yao Ming, and
I will attempt to call him today. As you know he is a difficult
person to reach, but I will do my best to talk to him, or at least
to his interpreter Cxxxx Pxxx. I will let yo u know if I'm able to
contact Yao Ming. In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck
and I apologize again for this matter.
Also, thank you very much for not making this a public issue.
I realize that you have every right to do so, and the fact that
You have not is saving me great embarrassment. Thank you so
much for that. I will do my best to let people know that the
phrase I used is inappropriate because of the context in which it
was used in the past.
Sincerely,
Steve Kerr"
First of all, let me apologize again for my mistake during
Monday night's telecast. I have felt horrible all day long today
knowing that I offended many people. I assure you I was
unaware that my choice of words was inappropriate, and in no
way did I use it malic iously. As I mentioned earlier, I was using
the term the same way I would use 'Frenchman' or 'Englishman',
and I was totally unaware that the word I used is a derogatory
one dating back to the 19th century.
I am ashamed of what happened, especially since I take great
pride in being extremely open minded and tolerant. I have
spent a good part of my life living in foreign countries and I
have respect for all cultures, races and religions. My sister in law
is Chinese American, and my brother in law is a respected
Chinese history scholar at Cambridge University in England.
One of my best friends, in fact, is also Chinese American. I called
them all today to explain what happened.
Anyway, I have already planned to apologize to Yao Ming, and
I will attempt to call him today. As you know he is a difficult
person to reach, but I will do my best to talk to him, or at least
to his interpreter Cxxxx Pxxx. I will let yo u know if I'm able to
contact Yao Ming. In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck
and I apologize again for this matter.
Also, thank you very much for not making this a public issue.
I realize that you have every right to do so, and the fact that
You have not is saving me great embarrassment. Thank you so
much for that. I will do my best to let people know that the
phrase I used is inappropriate because of the context in which it
was used in the past.
Sincerely,
Steve Kerr"