Denver Post sportswriter Terry Frei set off a firestorm on Sunday afternoon following a racist tweet in response to Takuma Sato, a Japanese driver, winning the Indianapolis 500.
Frei claimed he felt “uncomfortable” with Sato winning the Indy 500 on Memorial Day Weekend, subtly referencing the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which led to American involvement in World War II.
Frei left the tweet up for over an hour, which was more than enough time to yield thousands of angry replies (such as these). He ultimately deleted said tweet and offered a public apology. The Denver Post also offered an apology of their own, saying Frei’s comments do “not reflect the standards and values of our organization.”
The Denver Post's statement on Terry Frei: pic.twitter.com/0YAmYawW7q
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) May 29, 2017
On Monday, the Denver Post took it a step further and publicly announced Frei’s termination.
We apologize for the disrespectful and unacceptable tweet that was sent by one of our reporters. Terry Frei is no longer an employee of The Denver Post. It’s our policy not to comment further on personnel issues.
The tweet doesn’t represent what we believe nor what we stand for. We hope you will accept our profound apologies.
Prior to working for the Denver Post, Frei was employed by ESPN.
