Fox News host Laura Ingraham of “The Ingraham Angle” posed a question to her guests Thursday night that the mainstream media have largely ignored about the latest Starbucks controversy.

“Should the employee [who was] fired for calling the police sue Starbucks for defamation of character, since now she’s basically being tarred as a racist?”

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Fort Lauderdale attorney David Di Pietro said the employee would not win a defamation case, as Starbucks hadn’t said anything about her. “They’re actually in damage control and trying to save the reputation of their brand,” he said. The employee called police when two men would neither make a purchase nor leave the store; both men are African-American.

But Di Pietro’s argument, Ingraham pointed out, is no longer relevant. Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Shultz made the following statement on CBS “This Morning” on Thursday: “I think you have to say, in looking at the tape [of what happened], that she demonstrated her own level of unconscious bias. And in looking at the tape you ask yourself whether or not that, in fact, was racial profiling … There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason they were called was because they were African-American.”

“Howard Shultz, get out your checkbook,” said Los Angeles attorney David Wohl, “because what this manager did was follow company policy to a T.” He added, “This woman now has been tarred and feathered as a racist by Howard Schultz, with no evidence that race had anything to do with it.”

Wohl expressed other concerns about the message Starbucks is sending. Other employees may now be reluctant to call the police if they suspect trouble from minority customers, for fear that they, too, could be fired or cast as racists, he said.

“They’ve thrown that manager under the bus, trashed her reputation, ruined her life, all in the interest of maintaining their corporate brand. She’s got a huge lawsuit, and I guarantee you that’s going to be filed,” Wohl said.

Ingraham suggested Starbucks might have written the employee a check in exchange for a release that would protect the company from her bringing a lawsuit.

“I don’t think a jury in Philadelphia’s going to give her anything,” said Di Pietro.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross actually offered a public apology on Thursday to the two arrested men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson. A video of the April 12 event went viral, and, since then, physical and online protests and a boycott against the coffee chain have dominated headlines. Starbucks apologized and announced it would close 8,000 shops on the afternoon of May 29 for racial-bias training for employees.

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Immediately following Nelson and Robinson’s arrests, Commissioner Ross had defended the actions of his officers. In an April 14 video statement on Facebook, he said, for example, “These officers did absolutely nothing wrong. They followed policy. They did what they were supposed to do. They were professional in all their dealings with these gentlemen.”

Ross also noted that the event highlighted the need for more body-worn cameras for officers. The officers who made the arrests at Starbucks were not so equipped.

But now the commissioner seems to be doing something of a 180. “I fully acknowledge that I played a significant role in making the [incident] worse,” he said about his earlier statements. “I should have said the officers acted within the scope of the law and not that they didn’t do anything wrong.” He said his “lack of awareness of the Starbucks business model played a role in [his] messaging.” He was unaware of the custom of Starbucks customers spending many hours in the stores without necessarily being expected to make a purchase, he said, noting the officers may have been unaware as well.

“I can appreciate, in light of the Starbucks policy, and how well-known it is to many, why these two men were appalled when they were asked to leave. For this reason … I apologize to them,” said Ross.

In an interview Thursday with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America,” Nelson and Robinson, accompanied by their attorney, Stewart Cohen, provided their account of the incident.

They said they arrived at the Starbucks 10 minutes before a scheduled 4:45 p.m. meeting. Nelson asked to use the restroom when they walked in, and he was denied — the employee told him, per company policy, that it was only for paying customers. He and Robinson sat down. The employee asked them if they’d like to order anything, and they declined, as they had brought bottled water with them. She then placed the 911 call two minutes later, at 4:37 p.m.

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“When you were arrested, did they tell you what you were arrested for?” asked Roberts.

“No. Not at the time we wasn’t read any rights,” said Robinson, referring to what took place inside the store. “Nothing. Just double-locked handcuffs behind our back and escorted out and put into a squad car.”

A write-up of the “GMA” interview on ABC News said that “Robinson said police never read them their Miranda rights when they were handcuffed, and they were held in custody for eight hours.”

Attorney Stewart Cohen mentioned that Starbucks agreed to mediation with a retired federal judge in Philadelphia. He also told the Associated Press that his clients were illegally profiled.

Nelson told AP he “wondered if he’d make it home alive.”

Robinson said he “appreciates the public support, but anger and boycotting Starbucks are not the solution.”

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.