Kellie Harrington released a statement late on Monday night over an interview she did with Off The Ball earlier in the day.
The Olympic gold medallist refused to answer questions over an anti-immigration tweet she shared last October during the interview with Shane Hannon.
But in a statement, she later said: "Last October, I reposted a tweet of a video from a journalist (whom I did not know at the time) detailing the story of a young girl in France who was kidnapped and murdered. Moved by the horrific circumstances of this story, I reposted a video of this journalist together with a copy of a quote. My thoughts in that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.
READ MORE: Kellie Harrington refuses to answer anti-immigration question after controversial tweet
"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people I immediately deleted the tweet. I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them.
"As a sporting role model, I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do and say. I reacted with my emotions and without the facts. How this came across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts.
"I did an interview today during which I was caught off guard. I was not prepared for a question unrelated to sport and my response to the question asked was not definitive.
"I do not want to engage in politically sensitive matters.
"What I want to make clear is, throughout my life both in boxing & outside boxing, I have been lucky enough to have had many multicultural influences and this continues to shape me to this day. This is something that shapes me as the person I am today and something I am very grateful for. The people closest to me will attest to this.
"Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear. As a sportswomen I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."
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