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Tennis player Michael Llodra’s crude comment and bizarre apology

Michael Llodra hits a return against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday. Llodra retired from the match due to a leg injury, perhaps from sticking his foot in his mouth.
(John G. Mabanglo / EPA)
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Frenchman Michael Llodra entered the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament ranked No. 41 in the world and left it ranked No. 1 in the Foot-In-Mouth category.

According to several published reports, including one in the the New York Times, Llodra made an angry remark in French to a female fan of Asian descent during a match in the Indian Wells tournament. That remark was later translated as “Chinese whore.”

There apparently was enough corraboration for the ATP to take action. A fine of $2,500 was assessed, a fairly typical toothless action by the men’s pro tennis sanctioning group.

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Sometime later, Llodra tried to make amends, and his awkward attempt was frignteningly misguided.

“I can totally make love with a Chinese girl,” he said, in way of apology.

Llodra won his first-round match and then defaulted after four games of his second round. The official reason was listed as a knee injury. Some might speculate that his knee was about three feet below the real defective part.

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