The Denver Post announced Monday it had fired its sportswriter, Terry Frei, a day after he made a racially-insensitive remark about Japanese driver Takuma Sato winning the Indianapolis 500 Sunday.
“Nothing specifically personal, but I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during a Memorial Day weekend,” Frei tweeted out Sunday afternoon.
His tweet immediately set off a storm online, leading to Frei quickly deleting the tweet and sending out another message: “I apologize.”
About three hours later, Frei sent out a lengthier explanation for the original tweet, saying he had been visiting his father’s grave site at the Fort Logan National Cemetery. Frei said his father spent four years flying reconnaissance missions over Japan.