He's the guy that says, " If you don't like that you don't like NBA basketball," right?
I think these people make these comments cause they're not quite educated on the subject. I think they mean well and don't understand how hurtful it is to say - it's tone deaf.
I think it's crazy a guy that's been doing his job for 30 years would lose his job because of it. Why not make it a teaching opportunity rather than burning the witch?