Ilie Nastase Denies Comments About Serena Williams Were Racist

Ilie Nastase told the Associated Press Tuesday he doesn't believe his comments about Serena Williams' baby were racist. 

"If I said she would have an ugly, black (baby), that would have been racist," he said, according to the AP's Alison Mutler. 

Nastase also said he believes he will be painted as "the bad boy" so long as he continues to speak about Williams publicly. 

Last Saturday, Nastase made a racist comment during Fed Cup media availability after Williams and her fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, announced they were expecting their first child. 

"Let's see what color it has," Nastase said, according to ESPN.com. "Chocolate with milk?"

Williams responded to Nastase's remarks Monday with a post on Instagram: 

The International Tennis Federation has since launched an investigation and denounced Nastase's comments. 

"The ITF does not tolerate discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour of any kind," the organization said in a statement, per ESPN.com. "We are aware of alleged comments made by Romanian captain Ilie Nastase and have begun an immediate investigation so that we have the full facts of the situation before taking further and appropriate action."