Loren Tate, one half of the long-time "Terrible T's," has been pissing people off since before you were born. I suspect he can handle some tweeters. He's got nothing to apologize for. Like others, I suspect he sourced his comment the old fashioned way - someone in the Athletic Dept. whom he trusts told him. At this stage in his lengthy career, he really doesn't know how else to do it. I doubt he'd be trying to cash in on unsourced rumor, but we'll see.
He truly is amazing that he is still at it at this age - he was a fixture of home-bias Illini reporting since my childhood, and as a Cubs fan, a mostly hated source of Cardinal-bias at the Gazette for years.
We don't get the benefit of Chicago media, but damn if Loren Tate isn't enough to take them all on by himself on our behalf. At least I'm sure that's how he sees it some days. He bleeds Orange and Blue, and some day we'll all be worse off without him. And I say that having been annoyed by his comments many times.