John Moody, the Fox News executive who wrote an inflammatory op-ed last month railing against the U.S. Olympic Committee's embrace of diversity, is no longer working for the network.
A network spokesperson confirmed to CNN that Moody has retired.
Moody, who was executive vice president and executive editor of Fox News, had plans to retire long before the firestorm ensued from his controversial column: "In Olympics, let's focus on the winner of the race — not the race of the winner."
In the column, Moody wrote: "Unless it's changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been 'Faster, Higher, Stronger.' It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to 'Darker, Gayer, Different.' If your goal is to win medals, that won't work."
The article was eventually pulled after mounting outrage and Fox distanced itself from the column, telling media outlets that it did "not reflect the views or values" of the company.
But inflammatory opinion pieces were Moody's brand. He wrote columns titled: "Hey, #MeToo: Isn't female genital mutilation the cruelest cut?," "Trump's first year: Liberals keep screaming (and dreaming)," and "Oh, shut up: Let's prosecute criminal campus crazies," an article that suggested criminalizing college students who protested speeches by notorious hate-spewing individuals.
Moody was a longtime executive of Fox, beginning as executive vice president in 1996 when the network was founded — a position he served for the next decade. In 2009, he departed the network to become CEO of News Corp's NewsCore wire service, which was absorbed into Fox three years later. Moody was then reinstated as executive vice president and also executive editor. "Though he retained the title until his recent exit, people familiar with his role said it was largely ceremonial and that he had little power in recent years," CNN reported.
Moody's departure, though apparently consensual, follows the ouster of CEO and chairman Roger Ailes and host Bill O'Reilly for numerous sexual misconduct allegations.
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