Howard Kurtz and Jason Collins

Amid all of the reactions to NBA player Jason Collins coming out as gay this week, one of the most noteworthy responses came from Howard Kurtz, the media columnist for The Daily Beast and the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources." In a column, Kurtz complained about Collins' announcement, saying that the basketball player should have also addressed the fact that had dated a woman for eight years.

"One of the reasons that Jason Collins’ coming out packed such an emotional punch is that he appeared to be telling all," Kurtz wrote.  Except that he downplayed one detail. He was engaged. To be married. To a woman."

On the surface, the column seemed fine, except for the fact that Collins specifically mentioned in his story that he was engaged to a woman, making Kurtz's column have virtually no standing. The Daily Beast was so mortified by the mistake that it retracted the column and promptly fired him.

So my question is: How do you think such an error was made? Did Kurtz even read the article?

And should Kurtz have been fired? It's tough for me to say. I think on its own, the mistake is careless and ridiculous, though I don't know if it's a fire-able offense. However,  look at Kurtz's many mistakes over the past year or so. In January 2011, he published an interview that he said was from Rep. Darrell Issa, when it fact it was an interview with the representative's spokesman. And in October 2011, he said that Rep. Nancy Pelosi made a critical comment towards President Obama that she never actually said. Considering that, I think his firing is justifiable. What do you think?