NPR President Vivian Schiller apologized on Sunday for the network's handling of the Juan Williams controversy.
In a statement which was released Sunday, and was first seen by Politico, Schiller stood by the decision to fire Williams for his comments about Muslims on Fox News. But she apologized for NPR's hasty response to the controversy surrounding his remarks:
"I regret that we did not take the time to prepare our program partners and provide you with the tools to cope with the fallout from this episode...the process that followed the decision was unfortunate - including not meeting with Juan Williams in person - and I take full responsibility for that."
Schiller also wrote, however, that the decision the network took was the right one. Reiterating a statement she released last Thursday, she called Williams' comments "the latest in a series of deeply troubling incidents over several years," and said that he had been repeatedly asked to "avoid expressing strong personal opinions on controversial subjects in public settings...after this latest incident, we felt compelled to act."
The controversy surrounding Williams' firing has continued through the weekend. On Sunday, Williams appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and again blasted NPR for its decision. Fellow panelist Brit Hume also slammed the network, saying it did not support Williams because he was a "Bill Cosby liberal."
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