Six years ago, then-Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear posted a tweet that cost him his job.<\/p>\n
Even now, he still stands by it.<\/p>\n
Just days prior, protests and demonstrations against police brutality had started in Minneapolis and spread across the United States in reaction to the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd\u2019s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement became the driving force of the protests and a target of conservative and right-wing critics, who started saying \u201cAll Lives Matter,\u201d a rejection of BLM\u2019s message that Black people were not being treated as equals in American society.<\/p>\n
On May 31, DeMarcus Cousins tweeted at Napear, asking for his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement. Napear (who had had some notable<\/a>\u00a0exchanges<\/a> with Cousins while the latter played for the Kings) responded by saying, \u201cHey!!!! How are you? Thought you forgot about me. Haven\u2019t heard from you in years. ALL LIVES MATTER\u2026EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!\u201d<\/p>\n Former Kings players, including Chris Webber and Matt Barnes, reacted and shared comments of their own, saying Napear was a \u201cclown\u201d and a \u201ccloset racist.\u201d<\/p>\n The fallout was immediate. Napear was placed on administrative leave<\/a> and later fired<\/a> from KHTK, where he had been doing a daily show. And on June 2, Napear resigned from his post<\/a> as the Kings\u2019 TV play-by-play announcer, a role he\u2019d held since 1988.<\/p>\n Despite the fallout, Napear was adamant\u00a0he didn\u2019t regret what he said<\/a>, and six years later, he remains resolute that he did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n 6 years ago today. Are there really still people that don\u2019t agree with this? I haven\u2019t found many! https:\/\/t.co\/9DKDafgaYM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Grant Napear (@GrantNapear) May 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Napear filed a wrongful termination suit<\/a> against Bonneville (KHTK\u2019s owner), but it was dismissed<\/a>. After five years in exile, he returned to Sacramento\u2019s airwaves<\/a> this past September with Fox Sports KSAC, but the show was abruptly canceled in May<\/a>. Napear continues to host his \u201cIf you don\u2019t like that with Grant Napear\u201d<\/a>\u00a0podcast.<\/p>\n