Sports announcer Grant Napear was forced out of his job as play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Kings after posting “All Lives Matter” on Twitter.
This is the world we live in today.
Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear has resigned from one gig and has been fired from another in the wake of a manufactured scandal in which he tweeted that “ALL LIVES MATTER…EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!” in response to former Kings center DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins asking him what he thought about BLM.
Lol as expected.
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) June 1, 2020
Would expect nothing less from a closet racists
— Matt Barnes (@Matt_Barnes22) June 1, 2020
Keep in mind that DeMarcus Cousins was caught on camera literally threatening to kill his girlfriend last year, and no one seems to have an issue with that.
People quickly piled on Napear, and he responded in kind, even saying “So do black lives matter? Hell yes!!!”
I understand your point completely. Please respect how I was raised. My father taught us at an early age that racism would not be tolerated in our family. I've lived by that ideal every day of my life! So do black lives matter? Hell yes!!! https://t.co/UkDpNrA00Z
— Grant Napear (@GrantNapearshow) June 1, 2020
It's viewed as a problem because all lives, should matter. The movement is in response to the oppression of systemic racism. To reply to the movement with "all lives matter" suggests you're comfortable with blatant systemic racism or, an oblivious tool. Both impede EQUALITY 4 ALL
— Flex Wizdom (@WyzFlex) June 2, 2020
But that wasn’t enough to fend of the hoards, as they came for his head. Napear was forced to step down from his job.
Grant Napear, the longtime TV voice of the Sacramento Kings and radio talk-show host, has parted ways with both organizations following backlash surrounding his social media comments about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Napear was fired on Tuesday by Sacramento radio station Sports 1140 KHTK-AM, where he hosted an afternoon talk show with former Kings star Doug Christie. Napear also resigned from his television job with the Kings.
Napear was placed on administrative leave by KHTK on Monday, one day after he responded to a tweet from former Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, who wondered what the broadcaster’s take on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Napear, who has had a long-running feud with Cousins, emphatically replied: “ALL LIVES MATTER…EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!”
For Bonneville International, the parent company of KHTK, that clearly crossed the line — especially at a time when outrage and anguish is sweeping the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“We were saddened by the comments Grant Napear recently made on Twitter,” Bonneville said in a statement. “While we appreciate Grant’s positive contributions to KHTK over the years, his recent comments about the Black Lives Matter movement do not reflect the values of Bonneville International Corporation. The timing of Grant’s tweet was particularly insensitive. After reviewing the matter carefully, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with Grant.”
Many came to the defense of Napear, including sports radio host Ben Maller:
Another chapter of 2020 insanity, Grant Napear has been forced to resign from an NBA gig he's had since 1988 because "woke" social media decided he was "racist" for saying "All Lives Matter" https://t.co/kuB5NuMX0O
— Ben Maller (@benmaller) June 2, 2020
https://twitter.com/FCRubalcaba/status/1267324514586656768
https://twitter.com/kconn2016/status/1267950691013681153
Napear is apparently so racist that he gave this dude here his first job in the TV business:
This is a sad day in Sacramento sports history.
I interned for Grant Napear and he gave me my first paying job on TV. I will always respect that. It's sad because his voice is synonymous with Kings basketball. This absolutely had to happen today. But, it's still very sad. https://t.co/AQ2v33bqk5— Ken Rudulph (@MrKenRudulphTV) June 2, 2020
In 2020, you get fired from your job and the mob comes after you for declaring someone’s life who isn’t black matters.