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.

Yesterday Juan Williams was fired from NPR for statements he made while a guest on “The O’Reilly Factor”. Today Williams is speaking out on NPR’s decision to fire him in the NY Post; which he views “a chilling assault on free speech”.

Fox News moved swiftly to turn the controversy over Juan Williams’s firing to its advantage, offering him an expanded role and a new three-year contract Thursday morning in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, Matea Gold reports.