Dear Mr. Woo,
First of all, let me apologize again for my mistake during
Monday night's telecast. I have felt horrible all day long today
knowing that I offended many people. I assure you I was
unaware that my choice of words was inappropriate, and in no
way did I use it malic iously. As I mentioned earlier, I was using
the term the same way I would use 'Frenchman' or 'Englishman',
and I was totally unaware that the word I used is a derogatory
one dating back to the 19th century.

I am ashamed of what happened, especially since I take great
pride in being extremely open minded and tolerant. I have
spent a good part of my life living in foreign countries and I
have respect for all cultures, races and religions. My sister in law
is Chinese American, and my brother in law is a respected
Chinese history scholar at Cambridge University in England.
One of my best friends, in fact, is also Chinese American. I called
them all today to explain what happened.

Anyway, I have already planned to apologize to Yao Ming, and
I will attempt to call him today. As you know he is a difficult
person to reach, but I will do my best to talk to him, or at least
to his interpreter Cxxxx Pxxx. I will let yo u know if I'm able to
contact Yao Ming. In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck
and I apologize again for this matter.

Also, thank you very much for not making this a public issue.
I realize that you have every right to do so, and the fact that
You have not is saving me great embarrassment. Thank you so
much for that. I will do my best to let people know that the
phrase I used is inappropriate because of the context in which it
was used in the past.

Sincerely,
Steve Kerr"