Grant Napear Fired By Bonneville
• Bonneville Sports-Talk KHTK-AM/Sacramento afternoon host Grant Napear has been terminated following an insensitive Sunday evening Twitter exchange he had with former Sacramento Kings player Demarcus Cousins. Napear, who was also the Kings’ longtime television play-by-play announcer, was originally placed on administrative leave following what could be generously described — given the current tenuous state of race relations in America — as a poorly timed “Black Lives Matter” Twitter back-and-forth with Cousins.
When Cousins tweeted to Napear, “@GrantNapearshow what’s your take on BLM?,” Napear replied, “Hey!!!! How are you? Thought you forgot about me. Haven’t heard from you in years. ALL LIVES MATTER… EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!”
Later, when trying to walk back his comment, Napear tweeted, “If it came across as dumb I apologize. That was not my intent. That’s how I was raised. It has been engrained in me since I can remember. I’ve been doing more listening than talking the past few days. I believe the past few days will change this country for the better!”
Tuesday afternoon Bonneville International released a statement that read, “We were saddened by the comments Grant Napear recently made on Twitter. 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 views or 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.”
The statement continued, “Bonneville’s purpose is to build up, connect, inform, and celebrate communities and families. In the wake of George Floyd‘s tragic death and the events of the last several days, it is crucial that we communicate the tremendous respect that we have for the black community and any other groups or individuals who have cause to feel marginalized. Bonneville remains committed to fostering calm and promoting human dignity in the face of unrest. We plead for all to work together for peace and mutual respect.”
