Washington out on Grey's

I haven't spent too much time following the "Grey's Anatomy" brouhaha, but I did pay enough attention to assume that Isaiah Washington was in the clear when the season ended with him still more or less on the show.

But not so. ABC waited all the way 'til June to give him his walking papers. Odd. But the show must go on.

Tell me what you think. Was Washington's speech unforgiveable from the outset (in which case ABC should have canned him immediately), or should people be able to accept his apologies (in which case he shouldn't have been canned)? I think the reality of the situation was a little more complicated than that, but I think the question is still fair.