Denver sportswriter fired after tweet about Indy 500 winner
A Denver sportswriter has been fired from his job for an insensitive tweet about the winner of the Indianapolis 500 being from Japan.
Terry Frei of the Denver Post tweeted that he was "very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend," the New York Post reported.
Frei’s tweet came shortly after former Formula One driver Takuma Sato captured Sunday’s race at the Brickyard, becoming the first Japanese winner in the race’s history.
The tweet caused an immediate backlash on social media, with some Twitter users criticizing his post as insensitive.
@TFrei SPECIFICALLY personal, i am very uncomfortable w your racism, xenophobia & lack of understanding of what the Indianapolis 500 is all about
— megan brown (@thatgirlondeck) May 28, 2017
@TFrei really just a monumentally stupid tweet, congrats
— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) May 28, 2017
Frei later deleted his tweet and apologized.
“I fouled up. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said when I said it. I should have known better and I regret it,” he tweeted.
I apologize.
— Terry Frei (@TFrei) May 29, 2017
OK, I took out the name of a book. pic.twitter.com/b953FbqMEh
— Terry Frei (@TFrei) May 29, 2017
The apology may have came too late, however. The Denver Post issued a statement on Frei Monday saying that he had been fired:
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.
