澳大利亚联邦议员Llew O'Brien因在社交媒体上的一条帖文引发争议。在Lachlan Kennedy在格拉斯哥英联邦运动会100米决赛中获得银牌后，O'Brien发文称"白人可以短跑"[1]。Kennedy以9.85秒的成绩获得亚军，打破了由Patrick Johnson保持的澳大利亚全国纪录，仅以0.02秒之差不敌喀麦隆选手Emmanuel Eseme（9.83秒）[1]。
O'Brien随后阐述自己的观点，表示"看到一位白人澳大利亚人在世界顶级短跑赛事中竞争是鼓舞人心的"[1]。反对党领袖Angus Taylor对此进行了回应，试图淡化这些言论，称"我不关心他们的背景是什么...我祝贺所有为澳大利亚竞争且表现良好的澳大利亚人"[1]。
Australian federal MP Llew O'Brien drew criticism after posting "White Men Can Sprint!" on social media following sprinter Lachlan Kennedy's silver medal performance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[1] Kennedy clocked 9.85 seconds in the men's 100-meter final, setting a new Australian national record and narrowly missing gold by 0.02 seconds to Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme, who finished in 9.83 seconds.[1] The time broke the previous Australian record held by Patrick Johnson.[1]
O'Brien's remarks prompted immediate backlash, with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor attempting to distance himself from the comments.[1] Taylor stated: "I don't care what their background is...I congratulate all Australians who compete for Australia and perform well."[1] O'Brien described it as "inspiring to see a white Australian competing and performing well at a world-class sprinting event."[1]