Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios pled guilty to assault charges from 2021 involving his ex-girlfriend. Luckily for him though, the magistrate has dismissed the charge, meaning that Kyrgios has avoided a potential two year prison sentence.
Nick Kyrgios via ABC News (Australia) YouTube
Kyrgios was accused of pushing Chiara Passari, his girlfriend at the time, down to the ground during a heated argument. The magistrate ultimately decided that a conviction was not necessary since it was considered not to be a premeditated or severe common assault.
One of the arguments that Kyrgios’ attorney used to obtain sympathy for his client after the guilty plea was made was to blame his actions on his mental health— citing that the tennis star apparently dealt with depression as well as suicidal thoughts.
Nick Kyrgios via 7News Australia YouTube
RELATED: Australian Tennis Player Nick Kyrgios Spits At ‘Disrespectful’ Fan During Wimbledon Match
While Kyrgios did not speak with the press after the hearing was finished, he did release a brief statement regarding the matter on his official Instagram account.
“I respect today’s ruling and I’m grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction. I was not in a good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret,” he wrote. “I know it wasn’t OK and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.”
“Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. But I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has allowed me to feel better and to be better.”
Kyrgios went on to thank his girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, his family and friends, and concluded that “I now plan to focus on recovering from injury and moving forward in the best way possible.” The injury he was referring to was a recent surgery on one of his knees.
Source: Instagram
RELATED: Nick Kyrgios Melts Down, Smashes Two Rackets After Losing In the US Open Quarterfinal
While Kyrgios can blame his ‘mental health’ all he wants, this seems, at face value, to be an excuse in this author’s opinion for a history of abhorrent behavior towards other people, including very public examples of his rage-filled fits and callousness towards others.
At Wimbledon last summer, Kyrgios spat at a fan he considered to be behaving rudely, saying at the time, “He literally came to the match to literally just, like, not even support anyone really. It was more just to stir up and disrespect. That’s fine. But if I give it back to you, then that’s just how it is.” He also got into an verbal altercation with a line judge during the same match, calling them a “snitch.”
In April of 2022, the Australian racked up $35,000 in fines at the Miami Open for unsportsmanlike conduct for yelling at an umpire, whom he called a “F***ing tool” and also spat at before destroying his rackets in a childish rage.
He smashed two racquets and spat at an umpire before calling him a "f**king tool." So is enough is enough when it comes to Nick Kyrgios’ bad behaviour? pic.twitter.com/EEEoxZWV68
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) August 16, 2019
While mental health and other psychological illnesses are very serious matters, it seems that far too often in our society today that they are used as a crutch to excuse horrendous behavior. Treating people poorly, again and again, publicly or privately, is a choice.
What do you think about the results of Kyrgios’ case? Let us know in the comments below.
NEXT: Climate Change Activist Lights Himself On Fire During Laver Cup