Matteo Berrettini issues grovelling LeBron James apology and deletes ‘offensive’ post | Tennis | Sport

Matteo Berrettini has been forced to apologise after causing offence when he shared a photo of his “biggest idol” Lebron James to his Instagram story. The former Wimbledon finalist put a gorilla emoji alongside the snap, claiming he didn’t realise the racist connotations that came with using it before deleting the story. 

Berrettini reposted one of LeBron’s photos to his Instagram story, showing the American basketball star returning wearing a pro-am Drew League jersey for the first time in 11 years as he returned to the League. The world No 15 added a gorilla emoji and a crown emoji as he reposted one of the photos, immediately causing controversy.

The story remained up for several hours before the Italian tennis player deleted it and issued a grovelling apology as he claimed he was not aware of the offence the gorilla emoji would cause. “I am very sorry if my previous story post offended anyone,” he wrote later on Sunday.

“I was informed that it can easily be misinterpreted so I have deleted it. Lebron is my biggest idol. Incredible role model and inspiration.” LeBronshared a series of photos of himself during the game, including one with some emojis showing steam coming from the nostrils, though this appeared to be misinterpreted by Berrettini.

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