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Let's be clear -- I don't think Wak has a racist bone in his body.  I don't even think he meant to demean Figgy.  I honestly believe (from my days playing ball), that Wak thought enough of Figgy that he thought the veteran would take the high road and may have been trying to show the team that everyone would be held to a high standard.   I think this is more a case of Figgins knowing he's been less than stellar and already bent at himself before he stepped foot into that dugout and reacting to a comment he felt was offbase.
I think the only thing Wak is guilty of is forgetting where Figgy was from and HOW he might take it.
Figgins was out of line.  I think he stepped into that dugout carrying the guilt of a season lost, and knowing full well he missplayed the ball.   Pride has its good and it's bad.  Pride carried Figgy to push himslf, to demand more of himself than his tools really had to offer.  I think his pride also got the best of him that day.  
I dunno if his growing up in GA played into it or not, but I will say this.  I have a couple of friends, both from GA, one black, one white.  I ran the scenario by them both and they were completely in agreement that in some places, insinuating he was lazy was almost as ugly as dropping an N-bomb. 
Wak doesnt know that.  Dude grew up playing baseball in baseball cities and let's be honest, you grow up seeing players not races for the most part (at least thats how it was for me and my buddies).  I don't even think he's got any real Terry Collins in him, but, the situation readily made me think back to the "little facist", as some used to call him. 
Calling a guy out can be done.  Calling a guy out and embarrassing him stays with both the guy that got called out and the guys that saw it.   It's just a bad precedent.