Olympic long jump gold medalist Greg Rutherford says he did pull out of the Sports Personality of the Year running in protest at Tyson Fury's inclusion, before changing his mind.
He had initially requested to be removed from the list, which world boxing champion Fury remains on despite controversial comments equating homosexuality with paedophilia.
Rutherford says he will attend the event in Belfast a week on Sunday, explaining the turn of events in a series of tweets.
"I have opinions, of which I was privately clear. I DID pull out of Spoty, on Sunday I wrote to the BBC requesting removal," he admitted.
"Throughout the next 2 days the Spoty team asked me to stay on. Also, I realised my nomination meant so much to my family. I then asked myself, do I really want to disappoint my own family just because of a bigot’s views? The answer was no. Next thing I know, someone leaks my withdrawal request and the private decision I’ve made suddenly changes to something much bigger. So, I will still attend Spoty, to make my family proud and to thank them for the support in my career, and that’s what I plan to do.
He finished by adding in tongue-in-cheek fashion: "AND, I’m mega keen to meet Tyson Fury’s riveting, personality-filled little toe."
AND, I'm mega keen to meet Tyson Fury’s riveting, personality-filled little toe ðŸ‘ðŸ»
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) December 9, 2015
The British Boxing Board of Control and Greater Manchester Police are investigating Fury's words.
