I really do think its a slap on the wrist incident
I would agree if it was an isolated incident, a public apology and slap on the wrist would be appropriate. But it isn’t an isolated incident, he has made a half arsed non apology because he doesn’t care what he said, he cares that he has been caught.
Contrast that to when Mark Lawrenson, used the term “coloured” in a discussion about racism in football. He immediately came out and made a genuine heartfelt apology. And everyone was able to look at the incident and say fair enough, he is a guy who usually talks about football, tackling a serious issue, who stumbled over language due to the gravity of the subject matter. It was a minor mistake, that had the potential to cause some offence, he realised that and did the right thing.