Denver Post sportswriter fired over 'disrespectful' Indy 500 tweet

A sportswriter for The Denver Post was fired Monday after he sent what the newspaper called a "disrespectful and unacceptable" tweet about the winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Following Takuma Sato's win on Sunday, sporstwriter Terry Frei tweeted: "Nothing specifically personal, but I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend." Not long after he posted his message, Frei deleted it. He followed up with an apology to Sato and those who were offended by his tweet. "I made a stupid reference, during an emotional weekend, to one of the nations that we fought in World War II — and, in this case, the specific one my father fought against," he said, later adding he was "angry" at himself because "there was no constructive purpose in saying it and I should not have said it, especially because The Denver Post has been dragged into this."

It wasn't enough, and on Monday morning, the Post's Mac Tully and Lee Ann Colacioppo released a statement saying Frei was no longer an employee and they were sorry for his "disrespectful and unacceptable" tweet.

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