Longtime NBA announcer and shock jock Grant Napear’s career was destroyed this week when he tweeted the words “All Lives Matter”. He tweeted the phrase in response to a question from DeMarcus Cousins formerly of the NBA Sacramento Kings. Now, the 60 year-old has broken his silence to give his side of the story.
NBA Voice Grant Napear Fired For Tweeting ‘All Lives Matter’
Napear resigned from the Sacramento Kings TV as their play-by-play announcer on Tuesday, and he was fired from his radio station the next day.
This all came just two days after he took to Twitter to say, “ALL LIVES MATTER…EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!” in response to DeMarcus Cousins, who had asked him what his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement were.
“I don’t want to call it a mistake,” Napear told the New York Post of the tweet. “I don’t even know what adjective to describe it.”
Now people are losing jobs for stating that every single life matters. So things are going well. https://t.co/AEG86UUz06
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 2, 2020
Napear claimed that he didn’t even know that “All Lives Matter” was a term often used to counter the phrase Black Lives Matter. And he became emotional as he defended himself from allegations that he is racist.
“It makes me feel sick to my stomach because it is absolutely the opposite of who I am,” he said. “I am 60 years old. I will let the track record of my life and what I’ve done for my community and what I’ve done. … People who know me, of all races, I’ll let them tell the story.”
Grant Napear Surprised By NBA Player DeMarcus Cousins’ Question
Napear added that Cousins’ question had taken him by surprise, explaining that he has muted him in the past on Twitter because he “didn’t care to see all the banter”, as the two have long had a shaky relationship.
“It was very turbulent, on and off,” Napear said of their relationship, which started after Cousins was drafted in 2010. “He was constantly in trouble, getting into suspensions. He was a very volatile personality. And I had a talk show and so there were times I had to be critical of him. I’m sure he did not appreciate my criticism.”
One of these criticisms came last year, when Napear called DeMarcus Cousins “the rudest, crudest, most vile player that I have ever been around in my 31 years in the NBA.”
Boogie cousins playing chess not checkers with grant napear Lmao pic.twitter.com/0O7gkUkTUm
— john (@iam_johnw) June 2, 2020
Standing By His Innocence
Moving away from Cousins, Napear protested his innocence, saying that he is not and has never been racist.
“I have not once in my 32 years in doing the Sacramento Kings had any individual from either the radio station or the Kings mention anything in any way, shape or form about me and my relations with minorities, with any other group of people,” Napear said. “That is an absolute disgrace that that would ever be said. That is an absolute disgrace.”
One person who has stood up for Napear is Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who said on Tuesday that “to say that Grant Napear is a racist is absurd. In my knowledge of him … Grant Napear, trust me when I say this, this is me, is anything but a racist.”
When The Post relayed Russo’s thoughts, Napear became emotional as he talked about how his own father had fought for civil rights on Long Island.
“The fact that you just told me that,” Napear said, “I’m sorry that I got so emotional, because if anybody knows me and what my family stood for, that’s Chris Russo.”
He added that he does not know what is next for him, saying that he is currently “just trying to get through today.”
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