Aussie tennis player banned

Former Australian Open junior champion Brydan Klein has been banned for six months for racially abusing an opponent, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Australian was initially fined $13 920 and suspended by Tennis Australia after a volley of abuse aimed at South African Raven Klaasen when they played in the qualifying rounds of an ATP event in Eastbourne, England last month.

After further investigation, the ATP said that the 186th-ranked Klein, who issued a public apology after the incident, had been given a six-month ban from all ATP World Tour and Challenger Tour events and also fined a further $10 000.

An ATP statement said: "Under the ATP Code of Conduct, Klein was found to have committed the Player Major Offense, Aggravated Behaviour.

"The incident was deemed to have been 'behaviour that is flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament or is singularly egregious.'"

Media reports in Australia said Klein, who won the junior grand slam event at Melbourne Park in 2007, had called Klaasan a "kaffir" and spat at his coach and another player.

Tennis Australia immediately suspended Klein from the Australian Institute of Sport and cut off his funding grants and reserved the right to impose their own penalties.

"The determination said the use of the slur was "repugnant, and is upsetting and entirely unacceptable for this to be used in a sporting event such as the ATP World Tour where equality amongst sportsmen is a predicate to fair competition and, indeed, paramount to the success of the Tour and of the Sport," the statement continued.

The ATP said Klein had the option of appealing the decision, and if he enrolled onto a racial sensitivity training course within the first four months of the suspension, the remaining two months' suspension and additional fine would be waived.

"The remaining two months of the suspension will be reclassified as a final probationary period, allowing him to return to the Tour," the statement said.

The penalty is effective from July 20 unless he appeals the decision.

No surprise he's from Perth

Was tossing up between Perth and Melbourne.

He's probably a second-generation saffie then . . . . what's his name?

tac wrote:He's probably a second-generation saffie then . . . . what's his name?

something Zim

tac wrote:He's probably a second-generation saffie then . . . . what's his name?

Brydan Klein. Proof that bogans shouldn't be allowed to breed.

Brydan Klein? Sounds very farkin Saffie to me, zatty . . . .

The Klein part, certainly. But Brydan? FFS, what were they thinking? According to babynames.com.au it's not even a real name.

He was born in Rockingham.

Aussie sportsman in 'racist shit comes out of my mouth when i'm frustrated' shock.

Trev in having no idea what "second generation" means shocker

Maybe it's Bogan for 'Brayden', which barely qualifies as a 'real name' either.

My tip for the Sunday Tele headline: 'Eine Kleiner Klanger'.

If the second generation wasn't counted as 'Australian', then Australia's population would be around the 5 million mark.

Fred Nerk wrote:Maybe it's Bogan for 'Brayden', which barely qualifies as a 'real name' either.

My tip for the Sunday Tele headline: 'Eine Kleiner Klanger'.

'Eine' is too complicated for the average ST 'reader'.

Henry wrote:If the second generation wasn't counted as 'Australian', then Australia's population would be around the 5 million mark.

Some might say that second generation predisposes an Aussie education.

So the excuse for him being racist is to be racist and say he's not a real Aussie?

what is soo surprising here .. ?

FFS, it's tennis, people...

It's not as if Klein's total dickheadry was a State secret before.

Who had even heard of him before this incident?

Before B. Tomic arrived on the scene BK was widely thought of as the long-term FOAT (that's Future Of Australian Tennis).

His temperament has always been an issue - I heard somewhere that he defaulted McEnroe-style in a junior semi-final at Wimbledon.

Doesn't Tomic have a Dokic style father as well? I heard that the Dad made him forfeit a junior game because of an incorrect line call or something.

That was relatively recently.

So it's unanimous? Klein is a Dickhead of Bhajji proportions?

Bhajji is a dickhead of aussie proportions ??

Henry wrote:Doesn't Tomic have a Dokic style father as well? I heard that the Dad made him forfeit a junior game because of an incorrect line call or something.

Yes and had a roaring argument with Hewitt's ex-coach. I don't think he's quite in Damir's class of idiocy though.

The Australian Embassy in Belgrade is safe, then?