BACKPEDALING

To pedal backwards on a bicycle.

To step backwards.

"The player had to backpedal before catching the ball."

To distance oneself from an earlier claim or statement; back off from an idea.

"Though initially adopting a hard-line stance, the politician soon started to backpedal."

The act of distancing oneself from a previously supported idea, action, behaviour, etc.; a U-turn or flip-flop.