The Denver Post has cut ties with Terry Frei after the journalist tweeted that he was "very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend."
Frei posted the comment on Sunday, after Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver to win the race.
On Monday, the Post's president and CEO Mac Tully and editor Lee Ann Colacioppo published a short statement apologizing for the "disrespectful and unacceptable tweet." They added that Frei no longer works at the paper.
Frei had been at The Post for more than 20 years, according to the paper's managing editor, Linda Shapley. According to his Post bio, Frei was named state's sportswriter of the year four times in Colorado and three times in Oregon. He declined CNNMoney's request for comment.
"The tweet doesn't represent what we believe nor what we stand for," Tully and Colacioppo said. "We hope you will accept our profound apologies."
Frei has since deleted the tweet, which prompted an outcry, and issued an apology.
"I fouled up. I'm sorry," Frei wrote. "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."
Frei apologized to the Denver Post and Sato in his statement. Frei is the author of a number of works of fiction and nonfiction, including a book about his father's experience during World War II.
