Modly is in a CYA mode. He’s gone; he just might not realize it. You just don’t call a Navy Captain “stupid” and expect there will be no consequences for yourself.
“..You just don’t call a Navy Captain ‘stupid’...”
What I read was a little different. I read, “... it was a stupid thing to say...” But what I understood was that the words were hearsay. There was nothing I saw in writing. So, possibly, someone exaggerated.